Review of American Pie 2 (2001) by Pj S — 29 Dec 2011

This sequel to the big hit teen comedy sees the old gang reunite for a summer of fun after their first year of college in hopes of trying to further strengthen their bonds while also trying to get as much action as they can.

This one is fun, and it ups the ante where the gross out gags and bawdy content are concerned, but it's overall weaker and not as interesting thanks to a lazy script. There's still some heart and charm, and while they help, they didn't quite save this film from being a typical teen sex comedy with not much else to go on.

The gang is back, and their performances are all decent, but the uninspired material doesn't give them much to work with, They try their best though, and you can tell they all have great chemistry with one another.

I do like the direction this one takes as far as the individual stories go and how they relate to everything as a whole., but I feel like this movie was mostly an excuse to cash in without really caring as much as it should about the characters and how they deal with "The Next Step". The first one had a solid plot, and all the individual stories within that plot were good. With this one, there's no real excuse for why the gang get together to party for the summer, except to do that for the sake of it. There are continuations of some of the threads from the first, but there could have been a better developed reason for them all to get together.

This one has it's moments, but it's nothing special, and I think it's an okay one to skip unless you feel you need to be a completist.