AMERICAN PIE 2 (2001) / ** 1/2
Directed by JB Rogers. Screenplay by Adam Herz, based on a story by David H Steinberg and Herz, and characters created by Herz. Starring Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Thomas Ian Nicholas. Running time: 107 minutes. Rated AA for mature subject matter and sexual content by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 29th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Home from college, Jim (Biggs), Kevin (Nicholas), Oz (Chris Klein), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Stifler (Seann William Scott) rent a beach house for the summer. Jim gets sex lessons from Michelle (Hannigan) while awaiting Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth); Kevin pines after ex-girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid), and Finch for Stifler's Mom; and Oz is reduced to phone sex with Heather (Mena Suvari). Will their friendship survive the summer?
Review: Despite a cast of unknowns, 1999's "American Pie" was a hilarious hit, paving the way for many lesser imitators. And although the first "Pie" wasn't exactly screaming out for a sequel, its box office success made one virtually inevitable. The result is not as good as its precursor -- unsurprising, given that the sheer freshness of "American Pie" was part of its appeal -- but "Pie 2" is nonetheless an enjoyable romp. To a large extent, the best ingredients of the original "Pie" shine here as well: Biggs is fine as hapless Jim, Eugene Levy is terrific as his well-intentioned father, and Hannigan sparkles as sexually deviant flutist Michelle. And, once again, Nicholas and Reid are forgettable as former couple Kevin and Vicky, and Natasha Lyonne's Jessica is given nothing to do. There are a few additional missteps this time: Stifler, entertaining in small doses in the first film, grows wearisome in the expanded role he's given here. And Finch, so enjoyable last time around, is trapped in basically the same joke throughout "Pie 2". There is also a sketchier feel to the script, like a tacit admission that it has little reason to exist. Although a few sequences stand out -- including phone sex between Klein and Suvari, and hilarious lessons in sex from Hannigan -- it would not come as a complete disappointment if this was the final slice of pie.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
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