This movie tries to be American Graffiti...
and fails miserably.
shareI saw both "Shag" and "American Graffiti" around the same time a few years ago and I strongly prefer "Shag." It's just all-around superior; and Bridget Fonda as Melaina doesn't hurt.
I found "American Graffiti" disappointing -- meandering with dull characters; good music and early 60's vibe though.
The stars of American Graffiti weren't the characters but the 1960s car culture that Lucas was trying to capture, as well as the music and the spirit of the generation that he came from. I know that sounds weird, but that's in the spirit that audiences were supposed to take the movie in, which is why characterization wasn't really emphasized. Of course decades later, things have been lost in translation because today's audiences are not going to connect to the film in the way Baby Boomers did.
shareI respect that it connected with viewers back in the day, no doubt for the reasons you note, but it didn't work for me story-wise; I found it tedious. Still, I'll give it another chance someday.
"Shag" is all-around more entertaining for a film of this ilk IMHO.