More American Graffiti

If you like the first then you MUST watch "More American Graffiti" Where were You in 62?? I was probably just being potty trained since I already walked and talked, haha. Really this is a great movie but be sure to watch part 1 first. ENJOY

Excellent movie.

Unfairly maligned as a cynical cash grab upon its initial release. However, this film is finally getting the respect it deserves. A must for fans of the original - and anyone else who loves a great movies! Great snapshot of the late 60s. With the exception of Richard Dreyfus, the entire (primary roles) cast returns - Paul LeMat (again) proves that he is one of the most underated actor from the 70s/80s. Why he hasn't been cast in a major role since the 90s is beyond comprehension.... Harrison Ford's (rare) comic turn as a motorcycle cop is deadpan halarious! The rest of the cast pitch perfect: all the characters completely believable and logical - Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Ron Howard, Mackenzie Phillips and all the rest are exactly as you might have imagined when the credits rolled at the end of the first film. And again, Paul LeMat is amazing. His performance here is on par with Aloha, Bobby and Rose, Melvin and Howard, Citizens Band and of course, the first American Graffiti. Excellent cinematography by Caleb Deshanel (The Right Stuff, Being There) is amongst his finest - and he makes the best use of split screen photography this side of Brian DePalma. Worth a look.

The general take on these movies is that "American Graffiti" is one of the best teen movies ever made and that "More American Graffiti" is a significantly inferior follow-up with a much less entertaining tone to it. And this is true - if laughs are what you're looking for. You'll find lots of them in the first one and few in the second. However, it should be noted that this is a rare instance where a successful comedy was followed by a sequel in which comedy was very obviously not the main aim. Another way to view this two-movie package, with the films watched one shortly after the other in sequence, is that they together are a good depiction for today's youth of why the `60s are referred to as THE SIXTIES. "American Graffiti" is set in 1962; "More American Graffiti" is set in several periods from 1964 through 1967. With the exception of the absence of Richard Dreyfuss in the second movie, the six main characters and the actors who portray them in the first movie return for the second one. The first movie is indeed extraordinarily well done and is an exception to most teen-movie comedies in that the characters are very, very real. The second movie is fairly well done and is, for, the most part, a drama - with a number of parts being very dramatic. Is 2007 significantly different from 2002 from a social standpoint for young people? I think most people would say not a whole lot. For 16- to 24-year-olds living from 1962 to 1967, however, the 5-year difference was HUGE - especially in socially progressive areas such as Northwestern California, where these movies' characters grow up. Cultural renaissance so often quickly turned to cultural upheaval, and many youths lost their innocence very quickly and changed their worldviews very significantly. "More American Graffiti," especially when seen in immediate follow-up to "American Graffiti," depicts, about as well as a movie is capable of do so, how significant, often dramatic, and comparatively rapidly occurring the social upheavals of the `60s were, and how these upheavals tugged and jerked, often very, very hard, on so many young people back then.

This is an all-time great movie. We have a one-a-month classic movie Sunday at our home with 12-15 friends attending and this is today's feature film. The story is very good, and for us car-folks the classic '32 Ford and '55 Chevy are tops. The pranks are right up there and remind some of us of things we did ages ago, usually got away with, but shouldn't have: drag races on public streets, the booze purchase, chaining cop car's read axle to a post, ... Then there are the actors, several early in their eventual top-star careers: Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford. Add to that Charles Martin Smith, Wolfman Jack, Paul Le Mat, and others and you have a top flight cast. This is one of those well-written and acted movies that you can watch over and over and always see something you missed in earlier viewings. (My only gripe is not with the movie, but with the Amazon 24-hour limit on its rental. I mistakenly opened the movie about 30 hours before our showing today to check that it has closed captioning, so now must rent it again.)

Was okay.

GOOD FOR 1 WATCH FOR ME. FIRST ONE WAS MUCH BETTER.

I got this movie for my husband since the original movie is one of his favorites. He's very pleased with it, and enjoyed watching it again.