AMERICAN PIE was a surprisingly funny film that was smarter than it appeared on the surface to be. AMERICAN PIE 2 was a kind of fans only venture. The third film in the series isn’t all that worse than the first sequel, but it has a bit too much Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott, THE RUNDOWN).
The thing that made the first film work was that it knew exactly how to balance character humor with the gross-out stuff much like THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY did. The reason for this quality's absence from movie I think has a lot to do with the absence of Paul and Chris Weitz (ABOUT A BOY) in the director’s chair. Jesse Dylan’s only directing effort before this film was HOW HIGH.
As the title suggests, Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs, ANYTHING ELSE) is getting married to hottie band geek Michelle Flaherty (Alyson Hannigan, TV’s BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER). Jim is really worried about the wedding. He can’t dance, he wants the wedding to be perfect for Michelle and really wants her parents Mary (Deborah Rush, THE GOOD GIRL) and Harold (Fred Willard, BEST IN SHOW) to like him. So Jim’s friends Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas, STOLEN SUMMER) and Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas, THE RULES OF ATTRACTION) try to help him out. Then the giant jerk Steve Stifler wants to get involved. He’s the key to Jim learning how to dance. He also sets his sights on bedding Michelle’s younger sister Cadence (January Jones, DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS). And don’t forget Jim’s Dad (Eugene Levy, A MIGHTY WIND) is still around for helpful advice.
As in the other films, Jim finds himself in humiliating situation after humiliating situation, however in this film they seem more and more forced. Like how his pubic hair gets on the wedding cake. Don’t ask. Stifler is obnoxious and only funny in little doses. Here he’s the main character for the most part. I have a really hard time liking him at all.
However, the rivalry between him and Finch is quite funny. Shocking, unexpected moments can be really funny like the zipper shot in THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, but in overdrawn moments its just vomit inducing. Think dog doo and truffles. However, at its core, the film has a heart. This is displayed with Jim and Michelle’s relationship and Jim and his dad’s relationship. There’s a quick character moment when Michelle asks Jim’s Dad for advice that is actually touching. So again this is a film for AMERICAN PIE fans to check in with their friends from the previous films. It’s not nearly as balanced as the original, but we have come to like the characters and forgive them their faults.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
