Jim and his friends return home after their first year in college
​with hopes of throwing a big summer beach party at the lake.

COMEDY

American Pie 2 (2001)

Directed by J.B. Rogers

Written by Adam Herz

Starring Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott,
Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas,
Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy,
​Natasha Lyonne, Eli Marienthal, Jennifer Coolidge

Sequel to 1999's American Pie

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Connor Eyzaguirre

March 31, 2019

8/10

Comedy sequels are rarely good, so much so that I often go out of my way to avoid them for the likelihood that I'll be disappointed. But American Pie spawned a four film franchise, and that's not including the parade of shitty direct-to-DVD spin-offs. So, I figured, what the hell? I'm so glad I took the chance because American Pie 2 is easily as funny as the first, but now you get to enjoy the callbacks and character development. With the guys back from freshman year of college, the horniness is amped up to 11 and hijinks ensue.

Jim (Jason Biggs) discovers that his high school crush Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) is coming to see him for the summer, and he's still vastly inexperienced in the bedroom. So, he enlists the help of Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), the only woman he's ever been with, to help teach him how to please Nadia. On the sides of this story is Jim and his friends prepping for a massive summer party at Stifler's (Seann William Scott) lake house. Like the first film, the plot is simple and the film is largely character-based, though this time around the theme is love rather than sex. The characters have grown up (mostly) and are starting to think about the rest of their lives. But there are still plenty of ridiculous and hilarious scenes, like Jim accidentally gluing himself to his penis whilst trying to masturbate. After all, this is still American Pie.

I really enjoyed this sequel, especially for a comedy sequel. It's remarkably difficult to spawn a comedy franchise that's consistently funny beyond the first film. Look at Police Academy and Dumb & Dumber for proof of that. But American Pie has a message of hormonal lust and young love that resonates with every generation that watches it. And it knows exactly what kind of film it is. So, why not enjoy it?