By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * )
There's little point in ranting about gross-out comedy — well, no longer than a paragraph or two. The only thing that's changed since H.L. Mencken noticed early last century that "no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public" is
that mass media has made it a worldwide audience. As an English critic noted, "Either you find it funny, or you have taste and decency."
And here are another couple of interesting commentaries on the American Pie franchise. One, supporters insist that it's post-feminist because the girl characters are all cool and clever and the boys are the idiots. The idiots still get to look at a lot of breasts. Two, the genre continually humiliates the Jewish members of its cast, from Ben Stiller's zip episode in There's Something About Mary to Jason Biggs' relationship with the pie in the first of these, and with Superglue in this one.
The sequel opens on the campus steps. Soon their first year at college is over and they're back home for the summer holidays, renting a place on the lake at Grand Haven, Michigan.
Jim (Biggs) has been left badly shaken by his first sexual encounters. His girlfriend invites him to have "friendly goodbye sex" before the term ends but he realises that they've never had "friendly hello sex". When he learns that former girlfriend Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) is coming on the holiday, he enlists good-sport Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) to give him lessons. From here it's down-market all the way.
This sequel was made because the original contracts required it, especially after the first film cost US$11 million ($22 million) and grossed (literally) more than US$150 million worldwide. It's hard to see anyone sustaining a third episode so bye, bye American Pie: you won't be missed.
Rental video, DVD: Today
• DVD features: movie (100 min); commentaries with cast and crew; outtakes; deleted scenes; Jason Biggs feature Warning: Don't Try This At Home; screen tests; behind-the-scenes feature; classic movie lines; 3 Doors Down music video.
