The Graduate from a teen's POV.

Rating: Null/10 (20 November 2011)

When I first saw "The Graduate"it was not that long ago in my Art of Film class at the college I attend, Sinclair Community College. I wasn't expecting much out of the movie once I found out it was released in 1967, seeing is how I am a teenager and used to the new modernized style of films. You know, fast-paced shots that rarely last over 30 seconds each. I actually enjoyed "The Graduate" though, the film shows how a young man's fantasy of being with an older woman can be easily ruined if you fall in love with her daughter. I showed this film to my buddies and we could all agree that if we could go back in time, seeing this movie when it was released at the age we are now, it would have been an enjoyable movie to watch. The movie appealed to my friends and I because this is something that every teenage boy thinks about in some point of his adolescence; as in FINALLY graduating from school and doing absolutely nothing except for have sex and laze around in your pool. Though the movie brings the good point that doing something wrong like this eventually comes back to bite you in the rear.
The shot of when Mrs. Robinson is naked in Elaine's room with Ben the shot sequence is actually really fast switching between Ben and shots of her naked body. I didn't think this fast-paced style of shots would happen much in this movie. The scenes in the movie show the advancement in cinematography that was happening through the late 60's.
Some things I did find weird about the movie was how awkward Ben was as a person. I was reading other posts and people were relating Hoffman's character to Napoleon Dynamite. I could see where they are coming from saying that, both characters are socially awkward with others. The other main thing I didn't get was the ending scene of the movie. If Ben and Elaine were so exited to ditch her wedding and run away on a bus, why do they both look so skeptical when they drive away? All in all though it wasn't a bad film, I think it's a good one for any older-teenage boy to see to get a laugh.