"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."

I went to the theater and saw The Graduate Wednesday. Excellent film. Still holds up for me 50 years later.

The one exception could be that Benjamin's going after Elaine might be construed as stalking in this day and age.

One of the best times in film going is entering a theater and not having a clue as to what the movie is about, and then experiencing the unexpected greatness of it. Such is the case for me and The Graduate. I was 17 the year the movie came out. I received a screening invitation to this film starring someone named Dustin Hoffman. I remember thinking, "What a strange name...Dustin." On top of that, the title of the film didn't float my boat either. I had heard of Anne Bancroft. As I had nothing else to do, I attended the screening.

What a great surprise! It was an outstanding experience seeing this great film for the first time, not knowing anything about it as the plot unfolded. I mean, was Mrs. Robinson really trying to seduce him? I had no idea at that moment, just like our protagonist.

As I was watching the movie two days ago, it hit on me that the first time I saw it, Mrs. Robinson was 20-25 years older than me, and I, like many other young men, were lusting after this sexually experienced woman who could teach us the mysterious ways of sex. Now I'm 20-25 years older than the character. She looks way younger than me! I feel weird (and old!) about that. Time does fly...

I can now appreciate much more the character of Mrs. Robinson, and how she gave up her dreams and "settled" for the comfort and security of wealth and prestige.

I hadn't realized that Richard Dreyfuss had a small role in the film. He pokes his head out, looks through an open door and says something like, "Should I call the police? I'll call the police!"

If you haven't seen the film in a long time, I recommend that you check it out again. One thing I like to do is head over to the Internet Movie Database and check out the trivia page of a movie I'm about to see. It gives you a heads up on things to look for. The trivia link is about half-way down the page of the film's information, underneath the cast list.

I hope you enjoy seeing it again as much as I did!

Next week at the theater...Men in Black! I can hardly wait!