Review of American Pie 2 (2001) by Van R — 28 May 2010

"American Pie 2" delivers only half as many laughs as "American Pie." The best thing this uninspired sequel about the sexual shenanigans of college freshmen does is reunite the entire original cast. Sadly, "AP2" doesn't make adequate use of its ensemble cast. Jason Biggs returns as Jim the sexual lummox who suffers the worst humiliations imaginable. No, he doesn't defile an apple pie as he did in "American Pie." Seann William Scott runs a close second as the cretinous but comical Steve Stifler. Happily, Eugene Levy turns up in more scenes as Jim's Dad. The biggest surprise is band camper Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) joins the group! Unfortunately, director J.B. Rogers of "Say It Isn't So" and scenarist Adam Herz neither devote enough time to Oz, Finch, Heather, Jessica, Kevin, and Vicky nor do they put them in farcical predicaments. Not only did "American Pie" consistently ripple with fresh comedy, but also it let the girls behave as lecherously as the guys. "AP2" confines females to second-string roles. Half of the fun in the original concerned how the gals manipulated the hormone-addled guys.

"American Pie 2" starts well, but it concocts less comedy than its predecessor. The Michigan teenagers from East Grand Rapids High are finishing their second semester in college. Jim is having goodbye sex with a blonde in his dorm room when his well-meaning but clueless father shows up with a six-pack of beer. No sooner has Jim's Dad interrupted them than his mom prances in, screams at the sight of her son naked with a coed, and drops an apple pie on the floor. After Jim gets home, Swedish exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth of "Tomcats"), the hottie that he tried to seduce on the Internet, gives him a call. She wants to hook up with him at summer's end. Anxiety grips Jim. He fears his lack of sexual experience will repulse Nadia. Oz (Chris Klein of "Election") bids goodbye to Heather (Mena Suvari of "American Beauty") as she heads off for summer classes in Europe. So much for their romance. They experiment with phone sex, only to find Stifler eavesdropping on them. Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) and Vicky (Tara Reid) spend the entire movie proving to each other they can be friends after sex in "American Pie." In "American Pie," a group of sympathetic guys vowed to find girlfriends and lose their virginity on prom night. In "AP2," the guys share a beach house on Lake Michigan and throw an end of summer, "Can't Hardly Wait" type, blow-out bash. Our heroes earn money painting houses. Jim sneaks over to band camp to persuade Michelle to tutor him about what women really want. Homophobic Stifler suspects that lesbians live in one of the houses that they are painting. The lesbians catch Jim and Finch in their room trying to rescue Stifler. This amusing scene and Jim's Crazy Glue episode provide the funniest moments in "AP2.".

You'll laugh at "American Pie 2," but you won't laugh as often as you did at "American Pie.".