More American Graffiti

Bill L. Norton wrote and directed this American coming-of-age comedy, out in 1979 as a sequel to the 1973 "American Graffiti". It carries the original characters through four straight New Year's Eves, 1964 to 1967. Each year is depicted with a distinct visual style: the 1965 Vietnam sequences are shot on grainy Super 16 mm film to mimic war reportage; the 1966 segments, focusing on the hippie movement and peace protests, utilize split screens and multiple angles to convey a sense of chaos and layered storytelling. The narrative follows several characters: John Milner (Paul Le Mat) continues his drag racing career but meets a tragic end in a car accident in 1964; Terry "The Toad" Fields (Charles Martin Smith) serves in Vietnam, where he fakes his death to desert; Steve Bolander (Ron Howard) and his wife Laurie (Cindy Williams) face marital challenges due to Laurie's feminist aspirations; Debbie Dunham (Candy Clark) transforms from a high school beauty into a hippie and becomes part of a musical band. The film addresses significant social issues of the 1960s, including the Vietnam War, the peace movement, women's liberation, and cultural shifts of the era. Despite the return of most original cast members, except Richard Dreyfuss, and an experimental narrative approach, the film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, failing to replicate the success of its predecessor.