"The Graduate" movie review

Man, it seems like I've been incredibly busy recently and haven't been able to write that many movie reviews. This past week has been fairly crazy and lacking in sleep - so much so that I think I'll retire after finishing up this entry. But anyway for the first time in awhile (I always feel like I'm not getting the most I can from Netflix if I let my three DVDs sit on the table for more than a week) I had a couple free hours and wanted to watch a movie. The movie for tonight was The Graduate.

Now, I know what all of you are thinking - especially those of you who know how much of a movie buff I am - "You haven't seen The Graduate"??? Nope. Never got around to it. So now that I have finally gotten around to it, here's my review:

I give it a 6 out of 10. As it happens, being an old movie, its a bit slow. Not that I'm saying all old movies are slow and need to have crazy action, explosions, chases and what not to make them good. 12 Angry Men is one of my favorite movies of all time, and that stands alone with a solid script and great acting. The Graduate was just a little slow. The acting was great. Dustin Hoffman especially. Loved his nervous portrayal of the character in the first half of the movie, and then the change over his character in the second half.

The music - and this is coming from a person who thinks that the soundtrack and the music in the movie is one of the most important things (i.e. Garden State, any Wes Anderson movie) - was good, but my expectations had been built up so completely by this unforgettable Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack that I was expecting a little more. "The Sound of Silence" was played three different times in the movie! "Scarborough Fair" was played at least four times! So I thought it was kind of weird that they chose to use a few songs several different times.

But above all, my favorite thing about the movie, was finally seeing the original of what so many movies in our day and age have been quoting from. Seeing the original just made me laugh so much harder and appreciate those movies that quote it. I didn't realize that Old School is mimicking The Graduate when Will Farrell falls into the pool. And in Wayne's World at the wedding in the church, its a complete reference to the end of The Graduate. And although I've always been a fan of both of those more recent movies, seeing those scenes in The Graduate made me appreciate it even more.

Check it out if you've got the time. As everybody says "It's a classic".