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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's not all sunshine and flowers..., Mar 2 2004
What a great film. I have grown so fond of these characters over the years. So fond,in fact, that i was afraid to watch this movie. I had already mapped out the futures of all of the cast members. However, Mr. Lucas came through with flying colors. What a realistic and truthful telling of love and loss, happiness and sadness, Peace and war, and making up. Some of my favorite moments:Our favorite geek, Terry the Toad, has a subtle,yet bittersweet, finale. He gains his freedom, and loses something just as important to him. And, 'car-man', John Milner, has a riveting performance as a drag strip racer. Every moment you wonder if he'll live or die. I was so floored, i didn't even notice the absence of Richard Dreyfus. His absence took nothing away from this movie. I will cherish this movie as much as i do the original. But, i think to fully enjoy this sequel, you must have an affection for the characters. I am way too biased.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
LAST AMERICAN GRAFFITI, Jan 22 2004
I first saw this movie at the local twin cinema in January of 1980. The only reason I saw it was because they wouldn't accept my ID so I couldn't get into to see " Apocalyse Now " which was playing in the other cinema.{ I was only 17 at the time }. And it's worth pointing out, because in 1980 home video was almost non existant in Australia , I hadn't seen the first " American Graffiti " yet. So I got to see the sequel before the original. AND I LOVED IT !.I've always been very interested in that period of time {60's} so it captured my imagination straight away. The story was cleverly done, it was sad to see John Milner's fate but he is spared the indignity of us witnessing the accident that killed him. Same with Terry the Toad, he was last seen singing "Auld Lang Syme" as he deserted his unit in Vietnam. I hope he's still out there somewhere.
It was 9 years before I saw it sgain, and this time I picked up on some of the other characters, like Officer Bob Falfa, and Terry's buddy in 'Nam, the ex Pharoh. But of course now I could compare the sequel to the original, and how can you top a movie like " American Graffiti "? The answer is simple, you can't. So I have to take off one star. But it's still worth a look, and if it's OK with the rest of you, I'm going to order my copy from AMAZON very soon.
One last thing, why doen't George Lucas make another, he could call it "LAST AMERICAN GRAFFITI". In it he could show maybe Milner's ghost ( I'm being serious ) Terry's return from endless R&R, and Kurt visiting from Canada, and Steve and Laurie with the grandchildren. It could be set in about 1995 so the characters age naturally. You can have these ideas for free if your reading this, George. I just want to see the movie made.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun and Entertaining Sequel!, Sep 15 2003
"More American Graffiti" is the underrated and delightfully entertaining comedy sequel to George Lucas'1974 classic film, "American Graffiti".In Lucas'original film he followed various cliques of teenagers (over a 12 hour period), who were on the cusp of adulthood,asking that age old adolescent question, "what will I do with the rest of my life?" In this humorous sequel, we follow most of the original film's main characters into young adulthood and find out what they have been up to as their lives play out against the turbulent backdrop of the 1960's. Essentially the movie is broken down into four main stories, each taking place on a different News Years'Eve during the 60's decade.We meet up again with tough guy, John Milner (Paul Le Mat)who has left his street rod days behind and is now trying to break into the dangerous world of 1960's professional drag racing. He's doing this while he tries to romance a beautiful foreign exchange student, who speaks not a word of english. The second story takes place in Vietnam, where Terry "the Toad" Fields (Charles Martin Smith) is a soldier serving in a U.S.Army Medivac helicopter unit. All around him he see's the absurdity and hopelessness of the war and will try anything to keep from becoming a casualty. The third story takes place in the Haight-Ashbury's 'Summer of Love', where Debbie Dunham (Candy Clark)has become a hippie, who gets mixed up with a crazy rock n' roll band, while trying to procure a gig for her musician, boyfriend. The final story involves Steve and Laurie Bolander (Ron Howard & Cindy Williams)who are raising a family in suburbia. The couple experiences marital discord, which inadvertantly leads them into the world of the college campus anti-war demonstrations and riots.Director and writer, Bill L. Norton has very innovatively told us a number of stories against a vast tapestry of recent history. These baby boomer characters all experience both joy and heartache in their lives.But hey isn't that what life is all about? The entire cast recreates their characters with great finess and energy. Le Mat and Smith are especially good in their roles.Also, look for cameos from Harrison Ford, Mackenzie Phillips and Bo Hopkins, who play their original characters from the first film.The movie makes interesting use of both editing and cinematography, that changes from story to story.I really like the creative use of split-screen during the 'Haight- Asbury' sequences, which highlights those colorful and frenetic times.The DVD picture and sound transfer are exceptually well done.The DVD also makes the most out of it's wide screen formatting (especially in the drag racing sequences). My only complaint is that this DVD has absolutely nothing in extras (not even a film trailer). This movie is both a fun and entertaining sequel. While it might not have the classic status of the original film, it is still highly recommended!
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