Typical teen sex comedy

The success of the 1999 teen sex comedy American Pie confirmed that a sequel would be necessary. In this case, most of the original cast reteam for American Pie 2 that was made purely and genuinely for the money and the hope of more money. Hollywood sequels are an intriguing beast. There are some films that were made to have sequels (like the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and there are other films that require no sequel at all (The Matrix, The Mummy, etc). For the latter, Hollywood studios fund a sequel in the hope of another hit. In the case of American Pie, the original is a textbook example of a brainless teen sex comedy: nudity, heavy coarse language, sexual references...the works! So with the sequel the idea was simply to recycle the content present in its forerunner, reunite the original cast and voila - crowds will come and the money will flood in. Although the quality isn't outstanding, the studio achieved its goal.

Similar to its predecessor, I doubt anyone would start watching a film of this calibre expecting some sort of masterpiece. The series thus far has been nothing more but Box Office fluff: there are laughs, admittedly there are some clever characters, plus lots of sexual references and nothing further to move it out of the "brainless sex comedy" category. To its credit, the first film at least had some sort of a message. It's a coming-of-age comedy that also contained a relatable plot and some relevant characters. In all honesty, I think the humour encompassed in this series is more for an American audience. I thought the gags were sometimes funny and I certainly chuckled several times, but the filmmakers rely solely on creating comedy from the pratfalls and awkward situations. This really isn't my type of humour, I guess.

American Pie 2 reunites five of the main characters from the first film: Jim (Biggs), Chris (Klein), Kevin (Nicholas), Finch (Thomas) and Stifler (Scott). Their first year of college has ended and now it's the summer break. As usual, the guys have only one single thing on their minds: sex! The four guys move to Lake Michigan to spend their summer. However they can't afford the place on their own wallet, so they invite Stifler to stay with them as he will also contribute to the cost of the place. The typical, predictable series of events occur in the lead up to a massive party they plan to host. The guys also get a summer job as painters, but this is scarcely explored (or even touched on)...instead focusing primarily on the occupants that are presumed to be a pair of lesbians. Aside from that, Jim learns that foreign student Nadia (Elizabeth) will be visiting Jim...expecting a sexual experience. Jim is horrified that it will be a complete disaster like his last encounter with her (that was broadcast over the internet), so he seeks advice from his first time lover Michelle (Hannigan).

American Pie 2 is definitely worse than the film preceding it, although only marginally. Most of the gags are pretty sick and insensitive. I quickly got sick of the dialogue that was mainly profanity as opposed to witty remarks. The only witty dialogue is a rarity, to be honest. I didn't care for most of the moments that were supposed to make you laugh.

The cast are all pretty standard for the teen sex comedy genre. The five central protagonists are charming at times; however their lines leave a lot to be desired. I was especially fond of Eddie Kaye Thomas as Finch. I also adored Alyson Hannigan. She's very cute and has an appealing screen presence. She's my favourite. Seann William Scott's rude comments got tedious pretty quickly.

At the end of the day, American Pie 2 was made for the sole purpose of money. The guys return, but many of the girls from the original cast are limited to cameos and minor roles. This probably proves that the script wasn't good enough for the original female cast-members, instead only wanting a minor inclusion. The first American Pie is nothing groundbreaking and this statement is certainly true of the sequel.

6.3/10