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‘The Graduate’ gets a sequel — set in Westchester!

January

Whatever happened to Benjamin Braddock after getting on that bus with Elaine after all? Did proto-cougar Mr. Robinson chase after them? Did Ben return to his 20-something boomerang child ways?

Turns out they (Ben and Elaine) got married, moved to Westchester, and decided to homeschool their kids. At least, that’s the premise of “Home School,” the sequel that author Charles Webb just published to his bestselling 1960s novel.

What took him so long to revisit the Braddock/Robinson storyline? Well, according to this piece from the Daily News, it sounds like it was quitting smoking that slowed him down. In order to write the sequel, he says, “I finally settled down to do it and unfortunately it had the side effect of smoking, which I did when I wrote the original. To get back into the voice, for some reason that drug was needed to trigger something in my brain. That was the price I had to pay.”

The new book doesn’t actually take place in present day; it’s set in the ‘70s. Ben and Elaine are fighting with Westchester County officials for the right to school their kids at home. When they finally become desperate, Ben reaches out to the boys’ grandmother, Mrs. Robinson.

Sure, it sounds wacky, but picture this: A digitally resurrected 80-year-old Anne Bancroft (using that technique they used on Nancy Marchand in The Sopranos, Season 3) attempts to seduce Zac Effron, Dustin Hoffman’s stoner son, while teaching him the finer points of creationism in her own homeschool version of Anatomy & Physiology.

I’d pay to see that.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 at 1:39 am by Ted Mann.
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One Response to “‘The Graduate’ gets a sequel — set in Westchester!”

Rick Rapier January 30th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Hi Ted,

So you’d pay to see a sequel to THE GRADUATE, a 40 year old film? But would you pay to see a sequel to a much more recent classic, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF?

Seriously though, who knows why, but I was combing through Google links about the sequel I wrote (so surreal to be vilified by people as far away as Portugal and France!) and I came across your entry, one where you complimented the sample we’d posted on Stuck in the 80s. So, how’d you like to read the whole thing? Maybe you’ll actually love it, which several former haters now do. If I could win over some of them, I’d be thrilled to see how I would do with you.

Let me know and I’ll e-mail a copy to you as a PDF.
—Rick Rapier
Screenwriter of FERRIS BUELLER 2: ANOTHER DAY OFF

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