This belated followup to the classic "American Graffiti" is nowhere in the same league as its predecessor but yet I'm happy to have it anyway. Most of the original stars returned for it, but it's too bad the stories couldn't have been more interesting (with the exception of one good one, which I'll expand on later). At the very least, there was an interesting method born out of necessity which was utilized to tell the tales; as in the original, there are four separate stories going on, though this time they're not all occurring at the same time. Since we learned at the end of the last film that John Milner (Paul Le Mat) would be killed by a drunk driver in 1964, and Terry the Toad (Charles Martin Smith) would wind up Missing In Action in Vietnam in 1965, there would have to be some allowances made. So this sequel occurs on four different New Year's Eve's...
In December 1964, John Milner has become a big drag racer. As he prepares for the latest big race, he is introduced to a foreign beauty from Iceland who does not speak a word of English, yet Milner tries to romance her anyhow. This results in a rather dull chapter, but at least at the start we are also reacquainted with the rest of the group as they visit John at the racetrack for support: Ron Howard and Cindy Williams (they're both married now and Cindy's pregnant), Charles Smith and Candy Clark (both are now serious boyfriend and girlfriend, and Terry announces that he is going off to fight in 'Nam).
Then we cut to December 1965, where Terry the Toad is struggling through the violent Vietnamese War, and trying desperately to get himself injured somehow so that he can get sent home. This is by far the best story of the four, and always is worth returning to as we jump from one segment to another. (This chapter alone would have made a decent film). To make it feel like a real Vietnam documentary, this story only is filmed in rough and gritty 16mm. Charles Martin Smith once again is very entertaining, as he manages to be funny in trying to maim himself ... but also, this entry includes some poignant material of the hell endured in 'nam as well. One of the characters from the original film returns here - Bo Hopkins as Joe, the former leader of the Pharoahs gang ... who is placed as a fellow war vet here along with Toad.
In December 1966, Debbie (Candy Clark) is now a hip, psychedelic '60s chick, who mourns the loss of her former boyfriend Terry and gets stuck with a real creep as her newest beau, who takes advantage of her. Mackenzie Phillips' teenage character is sandwiched into this segment somehow, but it's a tedious chapter which really goes nowhere. The only slightly interesting thing here is that Candy's story is shot through visual trickery, such as split screen and other various cinematic illusions, to capture the trippy feeling of the wild and wacky times.
In December 1967 we have Steve and Lori (Ron Howard and Cindy Williams), married and struggling with their kids. They fight, they yell at each other a lot, and ultimately Cindy finds herself running off to stay with her second brother Andy (not Richard Dreyfuss; Dreyfuss had played her brother Curt in the original but did not return here, so a second sibling was created). Andy gets himself into trouble by burning his draft card and participating in various hippie protests of the day... another very boring storyline.
Throughout the film we have more great songs sprinkled around the events, this time sounds from the later '60s, obviously. It doesn't work out quite as nicely as it had the last time, but at least they tried to recapture the musical tone of the original. I think that if the stories had been better written (aside from the exceptional "Toad in Vietnam" scenario), this might have been much better. But I'd still rather have this movie than not. ** out of ****
In December 1964, John Milner has become a big drag racer. As he prepares for the latest big race, he is introduced to a foreign beauty from Iceland who does not speak a word of English, yet Milner tries to romance her anyhow. This results in a rather dull chapter, but at least at the start we are also reacquainted with the rest of the group as they visit John at the racetrack for support: Ron Howard and Cindy Williams (they're both married now and Cindy's pregnant), Charles Smith and Candy Clark (both are now serious boyfriend and girlfriend, and Terry announces that he is going off to fight in 'Nam).
Then we cut to December 1965, where Terry the Toad is struggling through the violent Vietnamese War, and trying desperately to get himself injured somehow so that he can get sent home. This is by far the best story of the four, and always is worth returning to as we jump from one segment to another. (This chapter alone would have made a decent film). To make it feel like a real Vietnam documentary, this story only is filmed in rough and gritty 16mm. Charles Martin Smith once again is very entertaining, as he manages to be funny in trying to maim himself ... but also, this entry includes some poignant material of the hell endured in 'nam as well. One of the characters from the original film returns here - Bo Hopkins as Joe, the former leader of the Pharoahs gang ... who is placed as a fellow war vet here along with Toad.
In December 1966, Debbie (Candy Clark) is now a hip, psychedelic '60s chick, who mourns the loss of her former boyfriend Terry and gets stuck with a real creep as her newest beau, who takes advantage of her. Mackenzie Phillips' teenage character is sandwiched into this segment somehow, but it's a tedious chapter which really goes nowhere. The only slightly interesting thing here is that Candy's story is shot through visual trickery, such as split screen and other various cinematic illusions, to capture the trippy feeling of the wild and wacky times.
In December 1967 we have Steve and Lori (Ron Howard and Cindy Williams), married and struggling with their kids. They fight, they yell at each other a lot, and ultimately Cindy finds herself running off to stay with her second brother Andy (not Richard Dreyfuss; Dreyfuss had played her brother Curt in the original but did not return here, so a second sibling was created). Andy gets himself into trouble by burning his draft card and participating in various hippie protests of the day... another very boring storyline.
Throughout the film we have more great songs sprinkled around the events, this time sounds from the later '60s, obviously. It doesn't work out quite as nicely as it had the last time, but at least they tried to recapture the musical tone of the original. I think that if the stories had been better written (aside from the exceptional "Toad in Vietnam" scenario), this might have been much better. But I'd still rather have this movie than not. ** out of ****