The original American Pie was a rarity of the 90s, in terms of teen sex comedies. The 80s thrived on them, but the next decade was without many, much less any of quality. American Pie succeeded. Sequels almost without exception never live up to the original. American Pie 2 isn’t as good as its original, but it’s pretty close, and is still pretty funny and worth the ticket price.

The whole cast from the original is back and story takes place about a year after the original, with the crew just finishing up their freshman year and returning home to find things a little different. The guys decide to rent a beach side house for the summer and get jobs to pay for it.

The sequel, as a whole is amusing, but several scenes really stick out as making the movie totally worthwhile and one of these opens the movie. Jim (Jason Biggs) is ready to move out of the dorm but is in the middle of hooking up with a fellow student. The ever-dorky father of Jim (Eugene Levy) walks in on them. The scene recaptures the awkward funny situation of the pie from the first one, without just recycling the first film. It goes by pretty quickly, but when Jim’s mother comes in the room, she drops an apple pie.

Another great scene is when the guys are at their summer jobs, painting and sneak into a house they’re painting where they think two lesbians live. The girls return home and the ensuing situation is really funny. I won’t ruin it if you haven’t seen it.

Overall, it’s Stifler, played by Seanne William Scott, who really carries the film. His insulting and testosterone-driven exploits and comments are hilarious and really add a lot to the film, even more so than in the first flick.

There are some things that worked in the first movie that were ok for then, but shouldn’t have been relived. Gross-out comedy is the norm for comedies as of late. Stifler getting a golden shower from a kid on the balcony, urinating (with his eyes closed, Stifler believes champagne is being poured on him from a hottie). This kind of gross-out just isn’t that funny to me.

Despite some scenes, such as the latter that could have easily been omitted, or that were rehashes from the first, American Pie 2 is definitely worth checking out. I was really looking forward to this film and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Jay & Silent Bob didn’t meet my expectations, while American Pie 2 exceeded them.