The Graduate

The Graduate is a classic. Dustin Hoffman made his debut in this tale of youth transitioning to adulthood. This movie works for so many different reasons, starting with the best movie soundtrack of all time and performances that still stand up today. The Graduate was also the very first big budget Hollywood movie to have a “normal guy” carry the lead. Dustin looked like us, he was awkward like us, and he wanted to do the right thing but fell prey to his libido, just like us. This movie defined the period by addressing social and family issues in the same context that real families were. Even today this movie feels fresh. We all wonder how and why? We long for the forbidden and take it for granted once we have it. Benjamin’s experiences also illustrated the uglier side of the sexual revolution; it wasn’t always glamorous when you indulged.

The AMC network shows this film regularly. Please go watch it. Another theme of the story is the difference between making a choice and making a plan. People who make choices sometimes think that since they are making a choice they are being active. They are men of action, wrong. Choices are presented. Passive. Men of action make a plan. Now that’s why we have so many victims on this planet. We don’t always like men of action, the planners and executors, but we admire and respect them. The infamous are also remembered if their crimes were planned or premeditated. Benjamin stumbles through the first part of the movie making choices and dealing with the consequences. Once he stood up and made a plan the future became a world of options. In other words his real life began. “And here’s to you Mrs. Robinson…” cue Simon and Garfunkel. The affair in the movie was part of the story, it made sense and it was strangely appropriate in the context of the entire film. It was also way out there for a film produced in the 1960’s. It all fits and that’s why this is a favorite movie.

Movie Synopsis:
Benjamin is home from school, having graduated with honors from college with no idea of what to do with his life. Mrs. Robinson, a close family friend old enough to be his mother, removes her clothes and tells him that she's 'available'. The same evening Mr. Robinson advises Ben to take what opportunities come up, because he'll never be 21 again. As he begins the affair, he finds that it fills his time, but depresses him. Under pressure from his parents and Mr. Robinson, he agrees to take out the daughter, Elaine Robinson. Mrs. Robinson becomes furious and Ben finds himself very attracted to Elaine. Everything explodes and Elaine returns to school. Ben follows her having decided to marry her, though, "She doesn't really like me very much." As he begins to make progress with Elaine, her parents descend and arrange a hasty marriage to another boy. Ben follows again to disrupt the wedding and win Elaine.

Fast forward 25 years and The Graduate is back in a new package. Oh boy it’s now a play. Huh? I’m skeptical but the story is so strong that perhaps it might just work. Jerry Hall (ex-Mrs. Mick Jagger) is playing Mrs. Robinson and fresh from his 7 year run on Boy Meets World is Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter). Now first I have a problem when any movie is re-packaged as a play. It works better the other way. A movie can expand on a play, show us the characters up close. The camera let’s you see their eyes and the camera can add pathos and depth to simple conversation. In reverse the opposite happens. I felt distant and the characters seemed cold. Even though Jerry was buck naked within the first 15 minutes my temperature stayed tepid. Jerry was the “hook” to get an audience and make her a few bucks. The story was distilled and the affair became the center of the stage production. Now let’s look at our new Benjamin, Rider Strong. This is a porn name if I ever heard one. Anywho I didn’t recognize him in the playbill but once the snorkel mask came off I knew who it was. I poked Alexis in the arm and said isn’t that the friend from Boy Meets World? Yes it was. Rider is now in his early 20’s and while his performance was adequate I never really believed he was Benjamin.

The worst part of this type of show is the odd way the audience reacts. I guess I should say how they anticipate. Many times throughout the show the laughter started before the lines were finished. These were the lines from the movie that the people remembered. They waited for them and once they started they gave the reaction, but it was one of shared memory not a new emotion or revelation. Cheap, cheap, cheap. In fact the best and freshest laughter came from the PA reminding people to turn off their cell phones since they hadn’t been invented yet. My one line review would read “Rider tries, Jerry dies”. I guess this production misses the heart that the movie had. Clever is not entertainment and I think that’s why I really didn’t like the performances. The best part of the show was the set. A simple box covered with louvered doors. The doors shifted and were projected on to create amazing spaces for the actor’s to work in. I kept waiting for the scene changes so I could see how were they going to do the next scene. The set never disappointed.

Finally a special note. Tucked inside the Playbill was an ad for www.opiates.com. This is a detox service that cleans you up by putting you out. Yes, detox under anesthesia. Wow, you don’t even have to be awake to kick the monkey off your back anymore. I thought it very odd that they chose the Playbill to advertise in. But I guess this is the crowd that can afford this type of clean up. Still it was weird to see this add in among fancy schmaltzy restaurants and jewelry stores. Somebody should have told Jack Osbourne about this since they do specialize in Oxy-Contin addiction.

Sean