Rated R - Running Time: 1:44 - Released 8/10/01
AMERICAN PIE 2
Rated R - Running Time: 1:44 - Released 8/10/01
Although I didn't regard Paul Weitz's blockbusting 1999 teen sex
comedy American Pie as highly
as many of my fellow critics, feeling it was little more than
a lamely concocted story about four high school guys racing each
other to be deflowered, I daresay its sequel is leagues better,
not only from the aspect of plot development but in terms of characterization
and cast interaction. This could be attributed to the directing
talent of James B. Rogers (Say It
Isn't So), promoted from his AP1 position of first
assistant director, but the fact that the entire cast has returned
for the sequel, including the eight or ten principals and several
minor characters, probably has more to do with it. The result
is a palpable sense of camaraderie among the cast, like old high
school chums getting back together. And in fact, that's precisely
what the story, by Adam Herz and David H. Steinberg, entails.
A year has passed since our friends had their memorable prom
experience, and Jim (Jason Biggs), Oz (Chris Klein), Kevin (Thomas
Ian Nicholas), Stifler (Seann William Scott), and Finch (Eddie
Kaye Thomas), are back home for the summer after freshman year.
Although they all succeeded in their goal of a sexual score on
prom night, most of them are still woefully inexperienced in the
sack, and resolve to spend the summer, er, honing their craft.
They pool their resources and rent a huge beach cottage together,
planning to make it with as many babes as they can before summer's
end, at which time they will have a huge, memorable bash.
The trouble is, with the exception of Stifler, who is game
for anything in a skirt, the guys are all stuck on the memories
of their prom-night partners. Oz has remained faithful to his
glee-club girlfriend Heather (Mena Suvari), but her enrollment
in summer school means they have to rely on awkward phone sex
until the party. Jim, whose proclivity for extreme public embarassment
continues unabated, reunites with band-camp girl Michelle (Alyson
Hannigan), who agrees to give him some sexual pointers (pardon
the pun) so he'll be ready for a reunion with his Czech beauty
and Internet partner, Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth). Kevin spends
the summer trying to re-establish ties with ex-girlfriend Vicky
(Tara Reid), and Finch, immersing himself in the art of tantric
lovemaking, still carries a torch for Stifler's mom (Jennifer
Coolidge).
Don't get me wrong; this is still a shallow flick about five guys whose only goal is to get it on, but at least this time it has some heart. The characters seem to have grown considerably, and the chemistry is much more relaxed. Of course, there are numerous comic situations, like the embarrassingly badly timed return of Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) on two occasions, some rauchy band-camp antics, and a scene with two suspected lesbians which borders on soft-core porn. But the humor has enough intelligence to be excused from its low-end premise, and offers many more laughs and much more character development than its shallow predecessor. ****