In his second feature, George Lucas carves up a slice of 50s nostalgia in a partially autobiographical piece he co-wrote with Gloria Katz and Willard Hwyck.
It tells the story of one night in small town America following the antics of four friends. Curt and Steve are college bound the next day(though Curt is still unsure whether he wants to go) and they are having a last night on the town. Toad is a young geek who is put in charge of Steve's classic car and decides to use it to cruise about looking for female attention. John is a tough, drag racing grease monkey who, when cruising about town looking for some of that girlie action, gets landed with a young girl for the night.
A great deal of the film focuses on cruising the strip and the relationship between a man and his car. The scenes are mostly played around in car scenarios; In the cars, in parking lots, at garages, at the drive in etc. music is also a key player in the feel of the film. There is a continuous soundtrack of the radio station in the background. The only time it converges from it is when the band at the high school hop are providing the aural nostalgia. The DJ on the radio, Wolfman Jack, is a common link through the four stories as he is providing the music and everyone in the town listens to his programme.
Dreyfuss's character has the most substance and the greater arc. You can tell that this is the character that Lucas identifies with. Ron (Ronny!) Howard is basically auditioning for Happy Days. The whole film is obviously the inspiration for the show as it could easily be the pilot, minus the canned laughter. Even Paul Le Mat's John is just a Fonz prototype.
It's an enjoyable enough film. It might have set a bar for 50s nostalgia films, but I don't see how it would belong in this list. Many have out shined it since, though perhaps they are in the marathon somewhere too!
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