American Pie 2 is another good entry in the series and in between the titillating and raunchy humor, the reason the film still resonates a decade later is because there’s a genuine heart at its core.
American Pie 2 (2001)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Universal | Unrated/R – 111 min. – $19.98 | March 13, 2012
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: J.B. Rogers
Writer(s): David H. Steinberg and Adam Herz (story), Adam Herz (screenplay)
Cast: Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy
Theatrical Release Date: August 10, 2001
DISC INFO:
Features: 4 Audio Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, BD-Live, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1), French (DTS 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Disc Size: NA
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A, B, C
THE MOVIE – 3.75/5
Plot Synopsis: One year after the prom-night misadventures, the gang – Jim (JASON BIGGS), Oz (CHRIS KLEIN), Kevin (THOMAS IAN NICHOLAS), Finch (EDDIE KAYE THOMAS) and Stifler (SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT) – has reunited for the summer. Now, an innocent looking beach house will be transformed into the ultimate party central. Five guys will discover the powerful bonds of friendship… and Super Glue. From late-night band camp – Jim seeks the help from Michelle (ALYSON HANNIGAN) as Nadia (SHANNON ELIZABETH) is making her way to town eager to see Jim – to some very accommodating next-door neighbors, this will be one summer vacation none of them will ever forget!
Quick Hit Review: The sequel to the raunchy comedy hit, American Pie returns with a sequel that might not be quite as good as the original but, for some reason, seems to hold up a tad better. Once again, we get to see these great characters back together and just as with the previous entry, they are each perfectly cast. Jason Biggs again shines, as does Eddie Kaye Thomas and Alyson Hannigan who thankfully has a larger role, while Seann William Scott takes most of the spotlight leaving the others to decent performances.
American Pie 2 was directed by J.B. Rogers who previously was a first assistant director not only on the first film but on numerous others (Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There’s Something About Mary, etc) and seems like a natural fit to helm the sequel. As I said, this one does hold up fairly well and the jokes still hit their marks which is a testament to itself as many generational comedies sometimes comes across dated.
All in all, I still enjoyed this entry into the series as, like with the first movie, you have plenty of raunchy humor, and over-the-top situations that never happen in real life, to give it a punch, yet there’s still heart at its core. The cast is again does well and even 11 years later, American Pie 2 is still funny which cannot be said all that often.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5
This release comes with a semi-glossy, embossed slip cover. As far as I can tell, all of the features from the “Collector’s Edition” have been ported over.
Audio Commentaries – There are an astounding (for a comedy release) four tracks included: 1. Director J.B. Rogers, 2. Writer Adam Herz, 3. Cast Members Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari & Thomas Ian Nicholas and 4. Cast Member Eddie Kaye Thomas. Each track offers something different but the best probably come from the director and writer while the two cast tracks should’ve just been spliced together.
Deleted Scenes (10:58; SD) – Here we get a handful of scenes that for one reason or another (mostly because it drags the movie down), didn’t make the final cut.
Outtakes (5:28; SD) – Yep, more on-set shenanigans where the cast make each other laugh, flub their lines or they just generally goof around.
The Baking of American Pie 2 (24:01; SD) – Get it? Instead of “making” they said “baking”! Anyway, this is a typical EPK featurette where, despite the running time, the cast and crew talk about the movie as a way to advertise rather than provide anything informative. Still, it’s not too bad as you do get some behind-the-scenes footage of the group working together.
American Reunion: A Look Inside (3:58; HD) isn’t anything special but you get some behind-the-scenes footage with comments by the cast as they talk about reuniting one more time.
Good Times with Cast and Crew (5:17; SD) is basically some more behind-the-scenes footage where members of the cast and crew have some fun set against some early 2000s dated punk rock music.
Also included is a Music Video (4:12; SD) from Three Doors Down, the Theatrical Trailer (3:19; SD), a BD-Live portal, a Digital Copy download code (compatible with iTunes and WMV) and a DVD Copy of the film (that was previously released in other sets).
VIDEO – 3.75/5
American Pie 2 is presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and debuting on Blur-ray, the 1080p high-definition transfer certainly has an orange-ish tint but upon examining the old DVD release, it matches 100% except that the Blu-ray is far clearer with a fine amount of natural film grain and noise. I won’t say this is a beautiful looking HD transfer, but it is an upgrade over the DVD version.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio fares a little better than its predecessor, but still is a tad disappointing. Dialogue levels are decent and while the lossless track picks up steam during scenes with music, its still doesn’t quite have the depth. I will say it is well balanced never topping out or being relegated to one or two channels, so on that front it’s a fine track, just nothing special.
OVERALL – 3.75/5
Overall, American Pie 2 is another good entry in the series and in between the titillating and raunchy humor, the reason the film still resonates a decade later is because there’s a genuine heart at its core. With regards to the Blu-ray, while I can’t say the audio and video transfers are anything spectacular, they are a modest upgrade over the DVD version.
The Movieman
Published: 03/14/2012