American Pie 2 Unrated Blu-Ray Review

Unrated (Strong Sexual Content, Crude Humor, Language and Drinking)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 51 Minutes

Cast-

Jason Biggs-James ‘Jim’ Levenstein

Chris Klein-Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher

Thomas Ian Nicholas-Kevin Myers

Eddie Kaye Thomas-Paul Finch

Seann William Scott-Steve Stifler

Alyson Hannigan-Michelle Flaherty

Tara Reid-Victoria 'Vicky' Lathum

Mena Suvari-Heather

Shannon Elizabeth-Nadia

Natasha Lyonne-Jessica

Chris Owen-Chuck Sherman

Eugene Levy-Jim's Father/Mr. Levenstein

Casey Affleck-Tom Myers

Jennifer Coolidge-Stifler's Mother

Directed by J.B. Rogers

I'm sure they can reattach it, son.

Here’s a funny anecdote: I stupidly believed that ATM’s would automatically start spitting out money when the clock struck 12:00 AM on December 31, 1999 due to the Y2K computer bug. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view), there was no major technological catastrophe and any problems that occurred on January 1, 2000 proved to be minor. Many have complained that the problem was grossly exaggerated and that ultimately, there was nothing to worry about but even so, I always say that it’s better to err on the side caution. Y2K was big news back in 1999 but so were movies thanks to a number of high-profile releases and breakout hits, one of which was Paul Weitz’s “American Pie.” R-rated sex comedies featuring copious amounts of nudity are nothing new in Hollywood but Weitz’s film led to a revival and the creation of a new successful franchise. “American Pie” lit up the summer of 1999 to the tune of $235 million worldwide (twenty times its production budget) and prompted Universal to green-light a sequel for release in 2001. The original “American Pie” was no classic by any definition and was honestly a thoroughly mediocre affair despite the fond memories that people have of the film. Not surprisingly, the lazily named “American Pie 2” is an uninspired sequel that is simply content with recycling everything from the original, including its problems. The comedy is even more ridiculous this time around but a majority of them aren’t even funny and the story once again goes nowhere due to having so many unnecessary characters that have little to do other than eat into the running time. How this series enjoyed such a positive reception continues to puzzle me. 

After finishing their first years at college, best friends James ‘Jim’ Levenstein (Jason Biggs), Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher (Chris Klein), Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas), and Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) reunite at East Great Falls, Michigan to spend the summer together. Unable to let go of his lingering feelings for his high school girlfriend, Victoria 'Vicky' Lathum (Tara Reid), Kevin confides in his older brother Tom (Casey Affleck), who advises him to rent the lake house at Grand Harbor and throw a memorable party at the end of their vacation. Kevin invites all his friends to come but is forced to have the obnoxious Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott) tag along in order to cover the rent for the house. The five manage to find temporary work as decorators and painters while dealing with their own personal predicaments. Oz tries to keep his relationship with Heather (Mena Suvari) alive while she is studying abroad in Spain by engaging in phone sex but finds himself continuously interrupted. Paul begins practicing the sexual art of Tantra in the hopes of sleeping with Stifler’s mother (Jennifer Coolidge) again while Steve becomes obsessed with a pair of female neighbors whom he suspects to be lesbians. Jim learns that Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) will be visiting by the end of the summer and seeks sexual advice from band camp geek Michelle Flaherty (Alyson Hannigan). However, the two begin to develop feelings for each other as they spend more time together. 

“American Pie” featured a rather thin premise but the sequel’s nonexistent story plainly illustrates that this film was made solely to cash-in on the audience’s good-will for the original. Instead of losing their virginity, the main plot concerns Jim’s growing feelings for Michelle but this is given so little attention to the point of being an afterthought due to the inconsequential subplots that take up a huge chunk of the film’s running time. Many of the supporting characters have little to do other than to provide a familiar face in the mix and the constant allusions to the first film rob this one of any sense of real identity. Writer Adam Herz’s lack of inspiration shows when he not only recycles story elements of the original but even the comedy as well. Sophomore director J.B. Rogers embraces a ‘bigger is better’ mentality in an attempt to do outdo the original but all of it comes off as desperation. The only time where I genuinely laughed is when Jim finds himself mistaken for a special-needs trombone player at Michelle’s band camp and is forced to perform for a massive audience while wearing clothes that are two sizes too small. All the gags are simply repeats with some variations such as Stifler getting a ‘golden shower’ instead of drinking beer mixed with semen or two nude women loudly making out with each other while everyone in the neighborhood accidentally listens in through the radio or walkie-talkie. The latter is also a blatant and cheap excuse to titillate the audience rather than coming up with something new or even actually funny. Jim even superglues his hand to his genitals while masturbating but this makes the film feel like an exercise in humiliation. One of the few strengths of the original was that the characters were sympathetic and likable even if their motivations were selfish but because there is no real development and thus no motivation, it’s hard to emotionally invest in what they’re going through considering that their problems are ultimately trivial. “American Pie 2” is proof that sequels made in response of the first film’s financial success are pointless and often creatively bankrupt but Hollywood continues to be thick-skulled and remain willingly blind. 

The acting remains a mixed affair with Thomas Ian Nicholas still his whiny self but nothing tops the god-awful scene where Chris Klein tries to have phone sex and begins rubbing his nether regions. I kid you not when I say that it was the stuff that nightmares are made of. Jason Biggs brings a sincere earnestness as Jim and it’s hard not to like him given his dorky nice-guy mannerisms. Eddie Kaye Thomas is fine as lovesick pseudo-sophisticate Paul Finch while Alyson Hannigan brings a smile to my face with her quirky line delivery. Eugene Levy reprises his role as Jim’s bumbling yet somehow hip dad and the film is always made better whenever he is on-screen to give some fatherly advice to his son. Unfortunately, these moments are all too rare. Seann William Scott continues to be a world-class jerk as Steve Stifler. His behavior feels like a hormone-addled fifteen-year-old teenager who has just seen female breasts for the first time in his life. Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, and Shannon Elizabeth make cursory appearances but ultimately do little in the film. 

“American Pie 2” was released on Blu-Ray back in March to promote the release of “American Reunion” and the results are definitely are step up from the previous film. Digital noise reduction is not as aggressively used and the overall look feels much more vibrant even though skin tones can lean toward an orange tinge. The opening scene looks terrible however but thankfully, the video quality does get better. Things on the audio front are also noticeably improved with the licensed music having a richer volume but ambience still leaves much to be desired. Special features include the prerequisite deleted scenes, gag reel, and four audio commentaries: first up is director J.B. Rogers with writer Adam Herz on the second, third is Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, and Thomas Ian Nicholas, and lastly Eddie Kaye Thomas flies solo on the fourth. 

Released on August 10, 2001, “American Pie 2” received mixed reviews with 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that the film failed to ‘retain the freshness of the original, nor is it as funny.’ Part of the reason for the middling reception was that the sequel suffered from numerous reshoots with entire subplots excised in order to keep it light and casual. Of course, it financially outdid the original with an impressive $288 million worldwide against a still cheap $30 million production budget, leading to a third film to be released two years later. “American Pie 2” has only one funny scene and the rest of the film simply limps along for two hours with a thin story that goes nowhere. Film critic James Berardinelli said it best in his own review: ‘when a motion picture is the result of a financial impulse, not a creative one, this is often the unfortunate result’ but Hollywood (or the audience) never learns.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

“My brother said by the end of the summer I'll get the big picture. And I see it. No matter what, times change, things are different. But the problem is…I don't want them to be.”