Tart with a heart. (American Pie 2 (DVD))

Member Name: Critchyboy

Product:	American Pie 2 (DVD)
Date:	17/10/01 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Minor character given a greater role.

Disadvantages: Seann William Scott's Stifler, Not much for the rest of the cast to do.

American Pie was good fun - after all, who outside of the (ahem) blue movie scene, had ever seen anyone making out with an apple pie..? Hands up...No-one? Didn't think so. After the success of the first along comes a second helping, no pies though but more of the same people who made the origional so much fun.

We meet up with the gang: the hapless Jim (Jason Biggs), the sensitive Oz (Chris Klein), the boring Kevin (Thomas Nicholas), the incredibly bizarre Finch and the completely obnoxious Stifler (Seann William Scott) after their first year at college. The opening scene of the film revolves around the trailer, which actually gives alot of the fun about it away which is dissappointing, but it is a great start. Jim having an incredibly embarrassing sex moment when his Dad (played by the excellent Eugene Levy) walks in on him during something that is best kept for the private arena. Then it's onto the point of the film. The lads go back home and its life, but not as it used to be. So in order to catch that they hire a beach-house, get jobs painting houses and ahve parties, building up to the final party where they all hope to get laid. That's the plot...but thankfully, it's padded out by fleshing out the minor roles of the first film namely Michelle (Alyson Hannigan of Buffy fame) and Jim's Dad.

Jim is building up to the BIG party where he would hopefully get to go to bed with Nadia after the embarressment of his live internet failure, but discovers from Michelle, who lovingly calls him "My Bitch" (amusing, no, really!) that he is in fact no good. She gives him lessons and he builds up to meeting Nadia and...I'd ruin it for you if I told you anymore...

Nothing interesting realy happens to the other guys. Oz's girl Heather is travelling Europe and they try and have phone sex interrupted by the obnoxious Stifler. Stifler himself gets horny when he thinks ther are lesbians in the house they're painting
and goes into investigate. Finch has gone all tantric and hoping for the big orgasm to release his pent-up energy and Kevin is sulking cause his ex has moved on and he hasn't.

There is one scene that is just too much, even for gross-out comedy. This is the scene where the 'lesbians' pretend to love each other up for the boys to have a quick thrill, but in return the boys have to do some same-sex petting. It goes on for too long and borders on being blatently homophobic and really lets the middle section of the film down in a big way.

The film itself belongs to Jim, his Dad and Michelle. There are some great scenes with Jim and his Dad and I think Eugene LEvy is superb. Michelle also has more screen time and her character comes across as so much more than the funny freaky girl she was in the first. These three are excellent - the rest just seem to have turned up and gone through the motions. Particularly Seann William Scott as Stifler who after Dude, Where's My Car seems to have, unfortunately, been typcast. He even played a similar character in the dissappoint Evolution.

Overall, the film is enjoyable enough. High points and some plummetting lows. Gross in place, but wears it's heart on it's sleeve as it ties up the lessons at the end. Not as good as the origional, but better than some sequels that should never have been made.

You'll enjoy it. You'll squirm at bits of it and I guarentee that it won't change your life. In fact I'd bet a slice of apple pie on it, just for fun.

Summary: