"
i seem to have glued myself . . . to myself .
" starring jason biggs , seann william scott , chris klein , thomas ian nichols , allyson hannigan , shannon elizabeth , natasha lyonne , tara reid , mena suvari , eugene levy , jennifer coolidge .
directed by j .
b .
rogers .
rated r .
american pie 2 reunites the cast members from american pie in a different setting ; instead of being high school seniors looking to score before they graduate , they are now past their first year of college and have gathered in a beach house to enjoy the summer of their lives .
jim ( jason biggs ) is still an insecure geek looking to improve his performance , oz ( chris klein ) is still the sweetest guy on the block , having sickeningly saccharine phone conversations with his studying - abroad girlfriend , stifler ( seann william scott ) is still a horny stoner ,
kevin ( thomas ian nichols ) still has no personality and finch ( eddie kaye thomas )
still longs for stifler 's mom .
have i missed anyone ?
so , obviously , not much has changed .
this is not a problem , provided that the movie boasts the rapid - fire hilarity and unexpectedly true sentiment of the original .
but american pie 2 is the very definition of " sequelitis .
"
it 's coarser , yes , and it pushes the envelope even more , but its heart is n't in it
.
it 's easy cash to capitalize off the first film 's success , but it would have been a worthier investment to prolong the franchise by coming up with something original .
part of the reason why the film does n't work , i think , is that while in the original the kids ' quest for sex was a coming - of - age stepping stone as much as an outlet for their horniness . here , everything has been cheapened .
they behave like those idiot frat boys who kill themselves drinking ; they have no motivation except for sex , sex , beer and sex .
that 's not to say that you ca n't make a decent comedy from that premise , but it is one of american pie 2 's undoings .
missing , too , is the sweetness that permeated american pie , the this - could - be - you quality of the main players .
here , the characters are too aware of themselves as pop - culture icons , and they 're even more one - note .
stifler and finch are now caricatures
while jim , oz and kevin are forced to make awkward self - discoveries at arbitrary moments , none of them betraying what the writers think the audiences want to see .
and then there 's the soon - to - be - notorious scene where jim superglues " himself to himself , " which perfectly demonstrates yet another of the film 's ailments , one that also permeated say it is n't so ,
director j .
b .
rodgers ' debut .
there 's a fine line between comedy and abject humiliation , and american pie 2 is on the wrong side of it .
it 's hard to laugh at the characters when you are profoundly embarrassed for them .
i shielded my eyes watching this more than i have watching any horror movie .
if there 's one redeeming factor to american pie 2 , it 's the inimitable eugene levy as jim 's dad , who pops in on jim as he 's about to score and utters lines like "
your mother and i have been known to get frisky . . .
not so much anymore , but . . .
" and then when the girl 's parents walk in , blurts out " this must be your daughter !
i did n't get her name , but hopefully my son did .
"
if only the rest of the movie had the wit and wisdom of levy 's performance .
this is an unworthy sequel to a gross - fest that brought back the raunchy teen comedy .
the box - office of this onw should keep the genre going strong , which is disappointing .
the genre needs a hiatus ; filmmakers are getting lazy .
Output: N