* AdaptationDisplacement: Yes, it is based on a novel. (By Charles Webb: his Ben is a good deal stronger than movie-Ben)
** Ben in the book is a blond jock. No wonder they auditioned Robert Redford for the role, and no wonder Creator/MelBrooks was confident Dustin Hoffman would fail ''his'' audition, and be available to work in ''Film/TheProducers''.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The diving suit scene.
** There is also a bizarre moment when the camera stops focusing on Ben and zooms in on a gorilla in the background.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: So many. Especially the ending.
* DesignatedHero: Much of Ebert's re-review is about feeling [[FridgeLogic 30 years later]] that there's absolutely nothing good or admirable about Ben.
* IconicCharacterForgottenTitle: ''The Graduate'' has been referred to as "the Mrs. Robinson movie".
* JerkassWoobie: Mrs. Robinson, and to a certain extent Ben.
* MemeticMutation: [bangs on church window] ''ELAIIIIIIINE!''
** What about "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me, aren't you?"
** Don't forget: "Just one word: Plastics."
* MisaimedFandom: Kids from the 1960's cheered Ben. Twenty years later, they cheered for Mrs. Robinson, when they realized WhatAnIdiot Ben was. Creator/RogerEbert notes this in his re-review.
* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Ben fighting people off with a cross in the [[spoiler: wedding scene]]. Dude, sweet.
* MoralEventHorizon: Sure, Ebert saw nothing admirable about Ben after 30 years, but Mrs. Robinson undeniably crosses the MEH by pulling Elaine out of college simply because Ben was getting too romantically attracted to her. Granted, she wanted to make sure the two were separated forever, but [[MisplacedRetribution going so far as to deny her own daughter a college-level education, even in order to achieve such means]]? Ebert must've believed that after 30 years, when all is said and done there aren't any heroes in this film at all. He was just unwilling to admit it.
** It's also possible she crossed it earlier when she hijacks Ben's car after his date with Elaine and threatens to lie to Elaine about him if he ever sees Elaine again. When he doubts that she'd go to such lengths? "''Then you'd better start believing me.''"
** She won't stop at FalseRapeAccusation, either; later in the movie, when Ben stops by looking for Elaine, she [=SWATs=] her own house ''purely as an intimidation tactic''.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Richard Dreyfuss has a bit part as a resident of the boarding house.
** Not to mention the realization that William Daniels played Ben's father, at least for those who grew up watching him as [[BoyMeetsWorld Mr. Feeny]] or [[KnightRider KITT]] first.
** A young Mike Farrell (aka B.J. on ''{{Series/Mash}}'') can be briefly glimpsed as one of the hotel staff greeting "Mr. Gladstone" when Ben takes Elaine there for a drink.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: The film is much like Mike Nichols' films - they're more subversive that they seem to be at the time. For example, the advice "Plastics"? It's ''good advice''.
** The part about plastics [[MisBlamed was unintentional]] - shortly after the movie was released, new advances in plastics production (that the script writers were highly unlikely to know about) caused the industry to grow at an extremely rapid pace. The fortuitous timing did result in the entire plastics industry becoming a PeripheryDemographic.