CCC Reviews

American Pie 2

I actually really kind of liked the first American Pie for some strange reason. Maybe it's the testosterone pumping through my veins or something...*else* but it was crude and unusual. Sort of like a Kevin Smith movie, minus the *really good* dialogue that Smith is so good at.

This time around, the four...well...five per-say, are back together; Jim, Kevin, Oz, Finch and Stifler. Their first year of college has just ended and they can't wait for this next Summer because it will be outstanding. Unfortunately, Stifler's first party back gets shut down pre-maturely by the police and the quintet is without a place to have parties at. Leave it to Kevin's older brother to solve things by telling Kevin about the Summer he had on the lake.

The five rent a lake house for the Summer, also working as painters during the day. They are looking forward to hosting a raging party at the tail of the Summer. Each guy has his own goal in mind. Kevin still has his eyes on Vicky, Oz is still devoted to Heather, Finch can't wait to see...Stifler's mom, Stifler needs to know if those are *really* lesbians and Nadia is coming back to town to visit Jim.

Unfortunately for Jim, he doesn't know if he's good or not in bed. The only person who does know, is Michelle. He goes out to Tall Oaks and asks her...he sucks. However, to be nice, Michelle offers to help Jim out so he is ready for Nadia's return.

What's good about this film is that everybody from the first is back. From the original four, to their girls, to the two MILF guys at Stifler's parties (they're pretty funny in this one too). Unfortunately, it seems that some of the "headliners" are lacking screen time. Since their obvious success in other works, Chris Klein (Heaven on Earth) & Mena Suvari (American Beauty) are hardly seen through out the film, the two are split apart because Heather flies to Spain for the Summer. The same can be said about Tara Reid who has a few lines here and there.

But I think the most important part is the concentration on Jim and the changes he goes through. Most of the cast goes through a "moving-on" phase, but Jim's is by far the best realization. Kevin's kind of a dumb-ass again, Oz is as committed as always, Finch is devoted to his spiritual side and Stifler is still Stifler.

This time around it has the same witty humor, with many references to the first film (web-cams, pies, etc.). But this time, there's a much better plot attached to it.


Scores for American Pie 2
RyoKazama534: - "A much cuter story than the first. Concentrating more on Jim than any other character. Yay band!"

Cast
Jim - Jason Biggs
Kevin - Thomas Ian Nicholas
Chris "Oz" Ostreicher - Chris Klein
Paul Finch - Eddie Kaye Thomas
Steve Stifler - Seann William Scott
Nadia - Shannon Elizabeth
Michelle - Alyson Hannigan
Victoria "Vicky" Lathrum - Tara Reid
Heather - Mena Suvari
Chuck Sherman - Chris Owen
Jessica - Natasha Lyonne
Jim's Dad - Eugene Levy
Jim's Mom - Molly Cheek
Stifler's Mom - Jennifer Coolidge
Stifler's Brother - Eli Marienthal
Amy - Tsianina Joelson
Danielle - Denise Faye
MILF Guy - John Cho
MILF Guy - Justin Isfeld

Crew
Director - JB Rogers
Story - Adam Hertz
Story - David Steinberg
Characters - Adam Hertz
Screenplay - Adam Hertz
Producer - Chris Moore
Producer - Craig Perry
Producer - Warren Zide
Co-Producer - Jane Bartelme
Co-Producer - Chris Bender
Associate Producer - Stefan Frank
Executive Producer - Adam Hertz
Executive Producer - Chris Weitz
Executive Producer - Paul Weitz
Original Music - David Lawrence
Cinematography - Mark Irwin
Film Editing - Larry Madaras
Film Editing - Stuart Pappe
Casting - Joseph Middleton