f i l m American Pie 2
Director : James B. Rogers
Cast : Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Klein, Alyson Hannigan, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas
(Universal Pictures, 2001) Rated: R by Todd R. Ramlow
PopMatters Film Critic
e-mail this article Back at Stifler's E arly in American Pie 2 , after the gang from the original installment has returned to their home town following a year away at college, the boys find themselves facing another teenage booze fest when Jim (Jason Biggs) remarks, "Here we are, back at Stifler's house." Stifler (Sean William Scott), of course, is the filthy rich, obnoxious party boy who throws these shindigs. Jim's comment is supposed to evoke, like, some inevitable sense of return, of confinement, or the lads' frustration at finding themselves back in the same small town, living with their families after a year away. At the end of American Pie the guys were all bright-eyed and looking forward to their college and adult futures, even while they were a little bit nostalgic for their high-school past before it was even over. We presume, then, as this is what they expected, that they have returned from freshman year older, wiser, and more mature. That this is why they seem just a little bit maudlin at being "back at Stifler's." Hardly. The guys haven't changed one bit. Stifler is still Stifler but we couldn't really expect him to change, if for no other reason than the character is the "comic" center of both films. Jim is stuck in his I-am-such-a-loser, I-can't-get-no-pussy, I'm-terrible-in-the-sack routine. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is haughty and pretentious, this time waxing on about Tantra and conserving one's energies, rather than about mochaccinos and how "ladies" are like fine wine. And Kevin (Thomas Ian Nichols) is still just plain clueless about everything. Oz (Chris Klein) hasn't changed much either, but this is one of the | |
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