i suggest if you have already see the original american graffiti and do not see this movie . if you haven not see the original and i still do not recommend this and but it will be a lot less painful to watch . the character from the first film be great and and by the end you fell a connection to them . this movie set out to show how bad their life have become . it a chore to watch . set on new year eve in 1964 and 65 and 66 and 67 and we have four story about the character from the first film . in 64 and we have john milner ( paul le mat ) who be now a professional drag racer . he meet a foreign girl eva and and though his plot really go nowhere and it the best of the four . in 1965 and we have toad ( charles martin smith ) who be stick in vietnam and and more than anything and he want out . he try to find way to hurt himself or do stupid thing to get out . in 66 and we have debbie ( candy clark ) and the girl who toad pick up in the first movie . now she be a pot smoking hippie and and really i be not sure what her plot be about . it be her go to a concert . not much of anything happen . finally and in 1967 and steve bolander ( ron howard ) and laurie bolander ( cindy williams ) be have marriage problem that end in a anti war rally and police action . none of these story be very good . the script in some part feature very and very bad dialogue . these poor character who i enjoy so much in the first film and end up where they be here . why . why be this sequel make . i guess if a sequel be make and it have to feature the vietnam war and and hippy and police action and but the real thing be that this movie shouldn not have be make . the direction be stylish and but it just amount in a huge headache . each story have a different style . milner be just a regular ( depend on how you watch it ) wide screen and and be film how the rest of the movie should be . toad plot be shoot in 16mm and and what it amount to be a poor look picture and which be the size of a small box in the middle of the screen . debbie plot be shoot in multi screen . at one point there might have be one screen and but for the good majority and it anywhere from two to twenty screen up at once . don not bother try to follow the screen and since there nothing go on anyways . steve and laurie plot have the weird filming style . it style really doesn not mean anything and and be dumb and pointless . instead of just a full widescreen and it a condensed widescreen that look like a full screen version of widescreen . though i do not like the others and at least i understand what they be go for and this one just doesn not make sense . the music be this movie save grace and not that it could save this . bob dylan and simon and grafunkel and stevie wonder and marvin gaye and dozen of others have nice song feature here . they do not save the feature and they just make it a little good than it be . it still bad . overall and this be a pointless sequel . any fan of the original should avoid this lackluster sequel . my rating represent half out of . 110 min . pg for language and drug use and violence .