American Pie 2, starring Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari,
Sean William Scott, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie
Kaye Thomas, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennifer Coolidge. Directed by J. B. Rogers.
Two very different teenage comedies have been released this August and contrary to
most movies in this genre, neither are crappy, and one is a very unique and original film.
In Ghost World, Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johannson) have just graduated high
school. Well, sort of. Enid failed a course, so she has to take makeup art at summer
school. Enid and Rebecca are the outsiders in their class - not the perkiest or the
cutest, they spend their time together cutting up the rest of the world
with sarcasm and detachment. Both have decided they don't want to go to college.
Instead, they want to get jobs, find an apartment and move in together. One day, they
are scanning the personals and decide to play a trick on one guy by calling and telling
him to meet them at a diner, but of course no one will show up to meet him. They drag
their friend with a car Josh (Renfro) along, and their mark Seymour (Buscemi) shows up.
But they feel bad for Seymour.
Enid's father (Balaban) takes up with an old girlfriend Maxine (Garr), an old girlfriend
Enid hates. Rebecca finds a job, makes new friends there. She is peeved Enid hasn't gotten
her own job, as Rebecca's chomping at the bit to find their new apartment. Enid instead
takes an interest in Seymour, and begins spending a lot of time with him, trying to
find him a date. Things don't work out as planned for any of them.
American Pie 2 finds the old gang just finishing their freshman year at college,
and returning home for the summer. Jim (Biggs) returns home after an embarrassing
encounter with a girlfriend and his and her parents. He gets a call from Nadia (Elizabeth)
saying she'll visit him at the end of the summer and hopes to consummate their relationship.
Jim sees Michelle (Hannigan) at band camp to ask her if he was any good, and if she
could give him some pointers. Oz (Klein) and Heather (Suvari) are going out, but Heather
is taking classes in Europe so they'll be separated for the entire summer. Finch (Thomas)
has taken up tantric meditation, but is still obsessed with Stifler's mom (Coolidge).
Stifler is still the party-animal goofball obsessed with getting women. Kevin (Nicholas)
is still not over Vicky (Reid), but at her request agrees to be just friends.
The boys and Stifler decide to rent a house on the beach for the summer to party, meet
women and have the most memorable summer of their lives. The four agreed last year
to move on with their lives after high school, but several of them have not done so,
and it causes trouble and unexpected events in their lives. Plus they drink and
party a lot. Do any of them ever get jobs? I don't think so.
Unlike American Pie 2, Ghost World is not about kids who live pampered
middle-class existences, kids who know they want to go to college and have much of their
live mapped out, nor kids who constantly have sex on their minds. It is about the
outsiders, the ones with the green hair and doc martins, the geeks who do not fit in.
It's strength is in allowing it's characters to be both nasty and confused
when necessary, but at the same time presenting them sympathetically, and allowing
them to evolve in a believable way.
Enid is confused as to what she wants out of her life, whether to get a job, to move
in with Rebecca, and constantly decides to do something and then changes her mind.
Rebecca has spent her high school career ridiculing the rest of the world, but after
taking her new job she slowly comes to empathize with those other people. Enid
does not come around, and it puts a strain on their relationship, especially as she
spends more and more time with Seymour, who Rebecca considers a loser dork.
Another strength is the almost natural relationship between Seymour and Enid, two
kindred spirits who the world has not found favour with. The humour in the film is
dark and quirky, not based on jokes or pratfalls. Oh, and if you're thinking that the
film's title indicates some kind of horror element, it has nothing to do with ghosts
in that way - the movie never comes out and says what it refers to, but I believe it
has something to do with the somewhat unusual events in the ending.
Enid was written for Christina Ricci who was busy and could not play the part, but
Birch is excellent to the point where I can't see anyone else but her
in the role. Putting on some extra pounds and perfecting the look and walk of a thoughtful
but angry post-punker, she consistently evokes empathy from us despite her self-absorption
in her quest to find what she wants out of life. Buscemi is outstanding - he is not
his usual creepy self, but entirely sympathetic and decent throughout. Enid attraction
to him is entirely understandable and believable. Dave Sheridan has a few brief appearances
as the construction worker who frequents Josh's convenience store, and is hilarious
and funnier than anything you'll find in American Pie 2. The humour
in the film is dark and quirky, not based on jokes or pratfalls.
American Pie 2 is tilted much more toward the mainstream. A lot of the same
ground is covered as in the first film, and the boys are still constantly thinking
about sex and partying. You'd think it would be a typical crappy retread like most sequels.
I remember the writer talking about wanting to write a film like Porky's which
is certainly a dubious ambition, but this film is nothing like it. It's actually funny.
It's a lot of fun and quite enjoyable thanks to its brisk pacing, solid cast
of actors, characters who are likeable, and its good-natured, warm-hearted tone.
None of which Porky's had. The film's randy premise and vulgar content are offset
by the warmth of the characters and like the first American Pie, it actually contains
a very nice romance between two key characters (I won't spoil it by saying which ones).
Not all the jokes are winners - the glue in the crotch is unbelievable and not very
funny, and Jim's accident prone nature starts to wear a bit thin - but the film is
smart enough to make a joke quickly and then move on to the next one.
Standing out in the cast is Alyson Hannigan, whose combination of geeky naivete and
guileless honesty is irresistable. Sean William Scott, as the conscienceless, self-absorbed
Stifmeister, is constantly hilarious. Eddie Kaye Thomas is a bit of a pleasant surprise
as the trantric, mother-loving Finch. Natasha Lyonne is wasted - one of the more
interesting actors in the group, she is given virtually nothing to do. I like both
Chris Klein and Mena Suvari, but their lovey-dovey relationship is now just a bit too
gooey. What is quite impressive is that every one of the actors from the first film
have returned, including even some who had minor characters, and it's not because
they can't get other work because actors like Suvari, Biggs, Klein, Reid, Elizabeth
and Lyonne have had starring and key roles in other movies.
If you're looking for a few laughs and a bit racy entertainment, American Pie 2
should fit the bill, but if you wish something more interesting and less mainstream,
Ghost World is one of the better movies so far this year.
Ghost World
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American Pie 2
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