More American Graffiti

Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Charles Martin Smith and Paul Le Mat return in this laugh-filled follow-up look into the lives of the gang from George Lucas' original coming-of-age classic, American Graffiti. Set a few years later, the film traces the continuing hopes, dreams and romances of these high school friends. Gone are the sock hops, cruise nights and make-out spots. Now it's all about campus parties, love-ins and peace rallies - as these friends find themselves in the midst of the amazing era that was the mid-60s. Featuring a timeless soundtrack loaded with the period's greatest hits by Bob Dylan, Donovan, Simon and Garfunkel, The Byrds, The Doors and more, it's a story sure to evoke memories of a time when becoming an adult meant laughing, crying and savoring old friendships. Six years after American Graffiti, George Lucas answered the call for an update on his classic characters with this ambitious sequel. You definitely need to know the original to have an emotional investment in More American Graffiti, as the action is spread over four different New Year's Eves in the sixties. Milner is drag racing, the Toad is dodging bullets in Vietnam, Debbie is a San Francisco hippie, and Steve and Laurie weather a domestic crisis. The cast is back, save for the AWOL Richard Dreyfuss; even Harrison Ford pops up for an amusing cameo. The busy rock soundtrack is there too, but the old magic is dissipated in labored comedy and obvious social comment. The most interesting thing about the film is director Bill Norton's decision to shoot the segments in different styles, a bold move that pays off in the gritty, TV-news look of the Vietnam sequences. --Robert Horton