Very Cool!!!

The Worst Film Ever

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

More American Graffiti (1979) ** (out of 4)At the end of American GRAFFITI we were told the outcome to the four main characters. This sequel allows us to catch up with some of them and then see their outcome. Steve and Laurie (Ron Howard, Cindy Williams) are now married but that is coming apart. John Milner (Paul Le Mat) is trying to get his racing career off the ground. Terry (Charles Martin Smith) is fighting in Vietnam. His flame Debbie (Candy Clark) is with a loser boyfriend.It would be unfair to call MORE American GRAFFITI a poor cash grab because it really wasn't. This sequel arrived six years after the original film and it's not quite as awful as some make it out to be but there's no question that it's rather pointless. I say that because the original film told us what happened to the main characters so seeing "how" it happened here really doesn't contain any drama or suspense.Another problem with the movie is its structure. The film film could bounce from one character to another because everything was happening over a single night. The same bounce game is happening here but it takes place over a period of years and since you already know the conclusion to two of the stories there's really not much going on here. THere's an anti-Vietnam and anti-police message throughout the picture so perhaps they wanted to show the fight that these folks were doing by the end of the decade.Another problem is that there are some pretty uninteresting stories here. In fact, I'd argue that there's really nothing interesting going on here. The worst story is clearly the one with Debbie. The Vietnam stuff is poorly shot and the director beats you over the head with the message so much that you tune out even more. The racing really has no drama because, well, you know the ending. The entire marriage drama is basically an extended fight of the battles this couple had in the original only with a silly protest angle thrown in.The performances are good for what they are and there's no question that we've got a terrific soundtrack once again. Since you love these characters from the first movie you can somewhat be entertained by this and go along for the ride but there's no question that overall this movie is rather pointless. The technical stuff dealing with the footage and alternate aspect ratios didn't help matters either.

Further adventures of the characters from American Graffiti. A lot of people reacted badly to the fact that the first movie was linear, happening in chronological order over one night, while the sequel is spread over 4 years and jumps around from one year to the next, etc. Add the split screen (which is an homage to 60's visual styles) and people got confused and tired of trying to keep track of which story and what period of time was being portrayed. That said, there are some really great scenes in this movie. In particular, I loved the scenes where Laurie (Cindy Williams) goes to the campus protest, gets caught up in it when she wasn't any part of it and has to run for her life (had this happen to me once). Then when her husband Steve (Ron Howard) steals a police van to rescue her, it was a delightful turn of the tables.

I loved the first "American Graffiti" with all my heart and soul that I considered it to be the best movie about rock n' roll along with being the best teenager flick I've ever seen. The first film spawned the careers of George Lucas who would later do the blockbuster epic "Star Wars" before doing the prequels two decades later while making Richard Dreyfuss a star in Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and other films as well.Somehow without those two, the magic died off."More American Graffiti" shows audiences what happened to the rest of the characters later on in the sixties where Steve (Ron Howard) and Laurie (Cindy Williams) are protesting against the Vietnam War while their friend Terry "The Toad" Fields (Charles Martin Smith) is in the war himself and trying to get out. John Milner (Paul Le Mat) is still the hot drag racer in California where he never quite left home. The rest of the supporting actors in the film from Candy Clark's Debbie (Terry's Girlfriend), to the Pharaoh's gang members, along with Harrison Ford and others really don't do much. The original film showed teenagers cruising the streets without any bloodshed with the early music of rock n' roll from Buddy Holly, The Fleetwoods, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Bill Haley and the Comets, Buddy Knox and more that brought back the nostalgia bug in classic music. The soundtrack for "More American Graffiti" is a mixture of rock, soul, country, hippie music, and whatever fitted the mood during the late 60's of protesting, drugs, sacrifices and more.After watching "More American Graffiti" it looked like it wanted to show audience members what happened after the title epilogue of the four main characters in the first film (with the exception of Dreyfuss's character) where it wasn't necessary. This film wasn't necessary either as I was glad to see that neither Lucas or Dreyfuss moved on to bigger and better projects.

This movie is completely different from its 1973, George Lucas directed, predecessor "American Graffiti". "American Graffiti" was about the celebration of an age and the innocence of youth and it above all was a fun movie to watch. Even though "More American Graffiti" is more comedy like than its predecessor, it's not halve as fun. This is because the movie handles too many serious subjects that were going on in the late '60's in a too light- and simple way.It's good to see that the movie manages to bring back almost every actor from the first "American Graffiti" movie. Some in big, others in small cameo appearances such as Harrison Ford and Mackenzie Phillips. Just like "American Graffiti" the movie also features some then still unknown actors who are now big stars, such as Scott Glenn and Delroy Lindo. So really nothing wrong with the casting again. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the movie.Basically "American Graffiti" wasn't a movie that needed a sequel, so in that regard, this movie already is a redundant and pointless one. But also the movie on its own adds very little. It's unclear if they movie wanted to make a statement or just wanted to entertain.The movie handles some very serious and heavy subjects that were going on in the late '60's. Such as the Vietnam war, its anti-Vietnam war college protests, hippies, etcetera. It uses a comical approach of all these subject, that feels totally out of place and almost works offensive, especially the Vietnam and anti-war protest sequences.The movie isn't told in chronological order, some story lines even occur years apart from the other. It makes the movie often more confusing and weak, than strong and gripping. The movie once more follows many different characters, this time in many different settings. It makes the movie feel disjointed, also since every plot line features its own cinematic style and differs from the other.This movie really raises the question; why? Why is it so different from the first movie, why did most of the actors ever agreed to be in this? Why didn't Lucas directed this one? Why is it more comedy like- but are the subjects so heavy and serious? Why was this movie even made?Neverhtheless as a stand-alone movie, it's still one that amuses enough. I mean I wasn't bored while watching it and some of its comedy still worked out fine. Also the great actors are a reason why this movie still remains a watchable enough one.So it's watchable but still a redundant and pointless movie and therefor really not a recommendable one.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/