The "Generation Gap" movie of its time

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 1999)

The trying times of youths, stuck between the innocent and promising teen years & the oncoming reality of adulthood is adroitly portrayed in this movie. Benjamin Braddock, who has just graduated college with honors, is undecided about how he is going to spend the rest of his life. Instead of finding answers, he is confronted with questions that he cannot respond to. So, he begins a sordid affair with Mrs. Robinson that leaves him bored, uncaring,& in his own words, "just drifting". When he meets Elaine, he begins to see that his life has taken a purposeful turn, only to be stymied in his quest for her love by the jaded Mrs. Robinson. How Ben emerges from a scenario that is "completely baked" is both a hilarious and poignant trip for movie watchers. Perhaps my favorite scene in the movie is when Ben is attempting to get a room at the hotel & feels as though a plethora of suspecting eyes is upon him. While this is to be Dustin Hoffman's breakout film, it is also to me by far the pinnacle of Anne Bancroft's distinguished career. She is both sexy and pitiful. I am also, in retrospect, surprised that Katherine Ross' film career went nowhere after this (although she was in Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid a few years later). Simon & Garfunkel's music permeates throughout the entire movie, & the theme of alienation that is so prevalent in Mr. Simon's words seem to have been indeed written for the movie (even though, in reality, songs like Sound of Silence & April Come She Will preceeded it by a few years). What's also interesting is how fresh & undated The Graduate remains today, over 30 years after its release. One funny note: After having seen The Graduate in the theater for the 1st time (I saw it 18 times in the theater!), I told my parents to see it, & advised them to listen carefully to the words in the songs, for they were meaningful to the storyline. After they did see it, my mother remarked to me that what she got out of it was that Mrs. Robinson's first name was "Rosemary".