American Pie 2 (2001)

As someone who found the original "American Pie" to just be passable, I found this one to be the same way! I think a fault is that a lot of this movie is pretty boring. Still, I think the good outweighed the bad. I especially liked how realistic the film was. I can totally see myself being put in situations like this. We all knew what it was like to be this old (well, at least those who are that old). Pretty much anything with the dad is good. I'm disappointed that they didn't use him more. He's probably the funniest aspect of the whole movie.The joke in the middle might be the best one. I really do appreciate its setup and how silly it is. I was hoping I'd get some goofy gags with this and I did in the end. At worst, these movies are just okay. I really do like the main character and I find him pretty easy to relate to. He probably is the nicest character in the whole bunch, somewhat reminding me of myself, hee hee. Some of the jokes are pretty juvenile, but it does have a fair amount of heart in it. That's weird to say about a raunchy comedy, but I believe it to be true. ***

"American Pie 2" is the second movie of the American Pie series and in this one we have the same cast and our story continues where the first one ended. And now we watch all the friends return to their homes after their first year in college.I believe that the first one was a little bit better than the second but these two movies are equally hilarious. I liked this movie because of the storyline and because of the cast who was the same with the previous movie. I also liked for one more time the interpretations of Jason Biggs and Seann William Scott who were fantastic and from girls I liked the interpretations of Alyson Hannigan and Shannon Elizabeth.Lastly I have to say that "American Pie 2" is a great comedy movie which shows us many true things about life.

American Pie 2 (2001) ** (out of 4) The four buddies (and Stifler) from the first film are a year into college and decide to have fun during the summer so they go to a beach house where they plan on throwing a major party. American PIE 2 is your typical "Hollywood does something right and then screws it up." The original film was a very funny, smart and rather vulgar comedy that became a huge hit so of course another film was rushed into production and like so many sequels this film is just a watered down version of the first. What's so frustrating about this movie is that there's not a single thing here that's anywhere close to the original. I'd say the film even lost some of the guts of the original when it came time for the gross out humor. The big "joke" here is a scene clearly trying to imitate the web cam from the first. In this film three of the guys end up in the home of who they think are lesbians and the encounter goes out via some walkie talkies. This entire sequence might leave a small smile on your face but it's really not funny. Another wasted sequence that tries to be "shocking" but just comes off as lame is when Jim ends up grabbing some super glue and I'll let you use your imagination on what happens. For the most part the cast members are in fine form and they fit back into their roles without trouble. Alyson Hannigan comes off the best but the screenplay doesn't do enough with her. The rest of the players are fine but again the screenplay just makes them copies of the first film. What's even more annoying is the fact that the entire set-up is just lame and predictable. When the events finally play out in the end I'm not sure who is going to be shocked by the twists. There's certainly some funny moments scattered throughout the film but considering how good the first movie was there's simply no way to view this thing as nothing more than a failure.

I was surprised when I finally saw American PIE 2 and found it to be as funny as the first. I'd assumed it would be a sub-par sequel that needlessly rehashed the original in an attempt to milk it for more profit; in the end, I was only partially right. The film does rehash some material from the original but it adds enough to keep it funny. The film begins at the end of the freshman year of college and the crew from the first film decide to rent a house on Lake Michigan in hopes of having the most memorable summer ever, while each dealing with their own issues. Jim seeks bedroom advice from Michelle in anticipation of Nadia's impending visit. Oz and Heather are made to spend the summer apart while she studies overseas and must overcome the distance to keep their relationship strong. Kevin is forced to cope with Vicky's desire to be "just friends", and Finch spends all summer preparing for his moment with the one that got away...Stifler's mom.This film is directed by the original's first assistant director J. B. Rogers, and I have to give him credit for a decent job. Granted, there are more difficult movies for one to jump into directing with but I've seen so many film sequels picked up by non-directors fail that I commend Rogers for a decent job here. Writer Adam Herz returned to pen the sequel, which allowed for the same sense of humor and understanding of the characters. The film does a great job of bringing back that same raunchy yet occasionally heart-warming humor of the first; at points I almost felt as if the filmmakers were reaching a bit with the gags, but I still found myself laughing.The entire original cast returned for American PIE 2 (which is good because I doubt if it ever would have worked otherwise). Jason Biggs is back in the role that jump-started his career and retains that awkward presence that keeps finding Jim in the worst situations. The rest of the cast don't have as much of a presence, as this film definitely feels like Jim's story, but the supporting characters have some great moments. I loved Eddie Kay Thomas in the film; Finch has taken up Eastern philosophy and tantric studies and he had some of the funniest moments in the film. The absolute best, once again, is Eugene Levy as Jim's dad. He isn't given as much to do this time and pretty much disappears after the first act but Levy is comedy gold. Both of the first American PIE films were some of the best teen raunch comedies in recent years and, as long as you were a fan of the first, you shouldn't have a problem finding something to laugh at this time around.