It is true. The entire album was a trendsetter because they were singing about emotions and feelings everyone felt, but were afraid to say out loud.
Here is an article that kind of describes the reaction to Dookie as a whole. But it does touch on Longview as well.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/31/how-green-day-s-dookie-defined-the-1990s-and-changed-music-forever.html
See You Tonight is a sweet little song on its own but I mostly think of it as a Fuck Time intro. The contrast going from that to Fuck Time is pure gold so I wouldn't skip it
Plus GDA got it's name from that song (was originally called Green Day Minority but then changed to Green Day Authority when it became bigger and more of an "authority" on the band), which automatically makes it cool . I actually always think of "Green Day Authority" when I hear "I don't need your authority" lol.
I wouldn't call the lyrics thin. There could always be improvement. But it does have lyrics such as: "one light, one mind, flashing in the dark. Blinded by the silence of a thousand broken hearts"