American Graffiti
A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.
Critics Sentiment
Curt finally speaks to the mysterious blonde on the phone at Mel's Drive-In
Bob Falfa challenges John to the climactic drag race on Paradise Road
A significant drop occurs during the drag racing climax, falling 2.2 points from Curt's emotional phone call to the more conventional action sequence.
American Graffiti maintains consistently strong sentiment throughout most of its runtime, with particular peaks during character-driven moments like the mysterious blonde sighting and Curt's climactic phone call. The film's episodic structure creates some variance, with critics responding most positively to the authentic period details and emotional character beats, while finding the drag racing finale less compelling than the intimate personal stories.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 52
Richard Dreyfuss
Curt Henderson
Ron Howard
Steve Bolander
Paul Le Mat
John Milner
Charles Martin Smith
Terry 'The Toad' Fields
Cindy Williams
Laurie Henderson
Candy Clark
Debbie Dunham
Mackenzie Phillips
Carol
Wolfman Jack
XERB Disc Jockey
Bo Hopkins
Joe Young
Manuel Padilla Jr.
Carlos
Beau Gentry
Ants
Harrison Ford
Bob Falfa
Jim Bohan
Holstein
Jana Bellan
Budda
Deby Celiz
Wendy
Lynne Marie Stewart
Bobbie
Terence McGovern
Mr. Wolfe
Kathleen Quinlan
Peg
Scott Beach
Mr. Gordon
John Brent
Car Salesman
Crew
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