American Pie 2 (2001)

2.5 out of 4

Starring: Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Chris Klein, Alyson Hannigan, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Natasha Lyonne, Eugene Levy

Director: James B. Rogers

Time: 104 mins

The original American Pie was a genuinely funny sex and gross-out comedy that did some tidy box office when it was released back in 1999. Of course, in this era of the obligatory sequel for successful films, we now have American Pie 2, which continues the adventures of Jim, Oz, Kevin, Finch, and Stifler in their quest for more sexual escapades and conquests. While there are some laugh-out-loud sequences that mirror the original's in terms of timing, placement, and effect, the rest of the film is only sporadically funny and, at times, uninspired.

Our boys, Jim (Jason Biggs), "Oz" (Chris Klein), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and the irrepressible Stifler (Seann William Scott) have just completed their freshman year in college. With Jim's fantasy girl Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) back in the USA but not arriving in town for a couple of months, Oz's girlfriend Heather (Mena Suvari) overseas for a study trip, Kevin's ex Vicki (Tara Reid) just happy to be friends, and Finch still lusting after the elusive Mrs Stifler (Jennifer Coolidge), the boys aren't quite sure what to do over the summer. With a suggestion from Kevin's brother (Casey Affleck, in a cameo), they rent out a vacation home near a beach on Lake Michigan. Here Jim is reacquainted with the band camp girl, Michelle (Alysson Hannigan), Finch learns the ins and outs of tantric sex, and everyone is tantalised by the prospect of painting a house inhabited by a couple of lesbians. Old relationships are tested, new ones forged, and everyone joins together for a big end-of-summer party that will make them realise that life is actually pretty good.

The filmmakers have given us a sequel with more of the embarrassing situations and toilet-based humour that graced the original. Though not necessarily a bad thing, the laughs here don't come at the same consistency or even the same frequency as the first film, giving rise to many a flat spot in the narrative. What's worse is that the story is even more of a rehash of the predecessor's than in most sequels, in that the main jokes are placed at the same spot as in the original. For example, both films open with Jim caught by his parents in an embarrassing situation, then there's a party at Stifler's where Stifler is the victim of a body fluid joke, followed by a midsection where Jim (joined in the sequel by Stifler and Finch) is forced to do something embarrassing that is inadvertently broadcast to the local community, and the ending is a big party where everything is resolved and everyone gets what they want.

There are some big laughs in the film, but they occur intermittently. Also, not all of the jokes in the original were based on sex and bodily functions. There was a very funny subplot regarding Oz joining the school's singing group that provided lots of laughs. Jim's dad (a hilarious Eugene Levy) also contributed some of the funniest scenes in the first film, but he's only in the second for about five minutes. The sequel's also missing a touching relationship on the scale of Oz and Heather's from the original. A new relationship is presented where our notional hero Jim finally finds his girl, but it's not as interesting as the Oz-Heather match-up. Indeed, Oz and Heather are hardly in this film at all, with Heather conveniently going on an overseas study trip and Oz just tagging along with his buddies. Neither is Kevin and Vicki's stop-start relationship truly resolved. Stifler is (deservedly) given a much larger role this time around, but though very funny, his is essentially a one-note character.

Character development may not be an important ingredient in sex comedies, but one reason American Pie succeeded was that it showed the boys develop and change as the film progressed. There is little of this in the sequel. Happily, all the main (and even minor characters, right down to the Shermanator, played by Chris Owen) are back for American Pie 2, which is a rare occurrence indeed. Jason Biggs is again subjected to some humiliating situations, but his innocence adds a touch of believability and contrast to the usual macho, gung-ho, hormone-infused boys (as typified by Stifler) that are in these films. Scott, who has been in a string of movies lately (from Dude, Where's My Car to Evolution and the upcoming Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back), doesn't do much to convince us he has any dramatic acting skills, but he imparts enough humour (of the crude kind) to lighten things up just when the film starts to dawdle. The other trio of males (Nicholas, Klein, and Thomas) are not as prominent this time around, but at least they have more screen time than the girls from the first film (Suvari, Reid, and Elizabeth). Suvari, who has shown promise in films like American Beauty and Loser, is conveniently dispatched in the first fifteen minutes so she doesn't haven't to be involved in the boys' hijinks. Hannigan (from TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer), has an expanded role a la Stifler, but hers is also a one-dimensional character.

American Pie was the first truly successful teen sex comedy since the genre's heyday in the 80s, when the likes of Porky's, Bachelor Party, and Up The Creek populated cinemas. Though it spawned some copycat successors like Road Trip and Tomcats, none of those films matched the freshness and creativity of the script and the performances in American Pie. American Pie 2 offers more of the same, but the laughs are reduced and the characters aren't as interesting. There are some funny moments in American Pie 2, but there aren't enough. Unlike last week's superior Rush Hour 2, American Pie 2 is just another mediocre sequel in a summer full of them.

(c) Joe Wong (12 August 2001)