Somebody Has To Say Something Different; A Dissenting View

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2007)

It is a sad fact of cinema history that when a film develops the reputation of a "masterpiece", it never loses the label no matter how outdated or worn out it becomes. I have to wonder if much of the praise on this page comes from people just being conformists.
It is undeniable that THE GRADUATE spoke to a whole generation. But is it really as powerful now as it was then? I think not. The years have been unkind to it. Seen today, Hoffman's "Benjamin Braddock" character comes across as a bit of a jerk instead of as the heroic, young idealist he was seen as in 1967. Simultaneously, in 1967, Mrs. Robinson seemed "sultry, sexy, with a hint of sinister", as I heard one admirer once say. Today, though, she just seems like a pathetic wretch, and you wonder what Benjamin sees in her.
We shouldn't be so afraid to say that what worked on screen in bygone years doesn't always hold up with the passing of time. THE GRADUATE is the perfect example of this. The ideals of the 1960s and early 70s are no longer today's ideals.