American Pie 2

Details

After surviving their first year at college, the gang reunites for the summer. With most of their house parties quickly shut down by the police for underage drinking, they hatch a grand plan - rent a lakeside house and throw one legendary end-of-summer party.

Jim, having endured an unfortunate interruption from his father during the previous film's finale, has been less than successful romantically since. When he learns that Nadia will be visiting at the end of the summer, he panics and turns to Michelle for some practical "coaching". What follows is a series of predictably disastrous training sessions.

Oz attempts to maintain a long-distance relationship with Heather, who is spending the summer in Spain. Kevin is still nursing feelings for Vicky, who insists they remain "just friends". Finch, fresh from his infamous conquest of Stifler's mum, has developed a taste for older women and spends the summer hoping lightning will strike twice.

And then there's Stifler - still crude, still loud, and still incapable of behaving like a normally functioning adult. When the group take on painting jobs to fund their lake house rental, Stifler becomes convinced that the attractive women next door are hiding something. What follows involves misunderstandings, humiliation and a particularly unfortunate golden shower incident.

Picture & Sound

The picture is bright, colourful and consistently clean. There are no noticeable artefacts or compression issues, and both interior and exterior scenes maintain solid detail throughout. The transfer holds up well, with an above-average bit-rate that keeps the image stable right through to the final scene.

The disc includes both DTS and Dolby Digital soundtracks. While this is hardly a film designed to show off your subwoofer, the DTS mix once again edges ahead thanks to slightly stronger channel separation. Dialogue is clear across both formats, though the rock-heavy soundtrack can occasionally dominate proceedings.

Menu & Extras

The animated and scored menu is visually appealing, though there is a noticeable delay when navigating between options. This may depend on player speed, but it can become mildly irritating.

The extras package is fairly generous, though not all of it feels essential. "Viewer's Top Ten Scenes" and "Classic Movie Lines" lean dangerously close to filler territory. The deleted scenes and making-of featurette are more worthwhile, while the various audio commentaries from cast and crew provide the best value. This edition is billed as the "unrated" version, though the additional footage is hardly groundbreaking. Perhaps the cuts were more significant in the US theatrical release.

Overall

The existence of this sequel may have been inevitable, but thankfully it doesn't feel like a cynical cash-in. The script is strong enough to keep fans of the original entertained, and Eugene Levy once again steals every scene he appears in.

If you thought the gags couldn't possibly go further than the infamous pie, think again. Between Jim's disastrous experimentation involving glue and adult cinema, and Stifler's humiliations, the film manages to be every bit as outrageous as its predecessor. Funnier than the first?

That depends on your tolerance for escalating embarrassment - but it's certainly close. Stand by for chaos.

Special features

• Making of Featurette
• Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
• Jason Biggs Warning: Don't Try This at Home
• Behind-the-Scenes Craziness With the Stars
• Viewer's Top Ten Scenes
• Classic Movie Lines
• Music Video and Music Highlights
• Commentaries With the Director, Writer and Cast Members
• Film Production Notes and Biographies
• DVD-ROM Enhanced