It might be more than a little counter-intuitive that one of this avowed night-owl’s happy places is finding myself in a movie theater on a Saturday morning… but when I saw that my local independent theater was having a series of classic movies every Saturday I had to be there. This month they’re running four movies from the 1960s beginning with The Graduate (1967). 

I don’t remember the last time I’d sat through the whole movie, but I knew all of the lines and memes that came from the film. I love watching these older movies because they are from a different world, a place that doesn’t even exist anymore, but they still communicate things about the assumptions of those days and thus the assumptions that we’re still living with. 

Here’s this kid, Ben Braddock, played by a very young Dustin Hoffman, about to celebrate his 21st birthday, just graduated (“with honors”?) from a university in the East, but he has no clue about what he wants to do with his life. His parents have indulged him with everything he could possibly want right down to the red European sports car given to him as a graduation gift. Everyone has advise for him and all of the men are jealous of his youth and wish that they were 21 again, as if being young again would fix all of the dysfunction and dissatisfaction hiding behind the beautiful homes and after-hours drinking. At the same time, it is a very funny film, in a cringy sort of way that was decades ahead of its time. 

These people are so broken, doing what they are supposed to do, living successful somewhat meaningless lives. Anne Bancroft, as Mrs. Robinson, is chilling in her easy seduction of this lost spoiled child. When the daughter, Elaine, played by Katherine Ross, enters the story things go to a whole new level of crazy. Is Ben attracted to Elaine because they have an actual connection or because Mrs. Robinson doesn’t want him to date her daughter? And Elaine is clearly too young to know what she really wants too, still having a boyfriend in Berkeley but accepting the advances from Ben, especially after how poorly he treats her on their first date (going to a strip club). 

Basically, the older generation is stuck in their world that was decided for them and by momentary bad decisions made before they had a clue or even knew what they were doing and the younger generation is rebelling against what they are expected to do, but with the same “oh shit” results. Enjoy. 

[Movie watched on 2026-04-04 at Cinema 21, Portland OR].

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Tags: 1960s, 2026 movies, cultural expectations, life choices, Video Mondays

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