american pie 2 ( 2001 ) 1 1/2 stars out of 4 . starring jason biggs , chris klein , shannon elizabeth , alyson hannigan , natasha lyonne , thomas ian nicholas , chris own , tara reid , seann william scott , mena suvari , eddie kaye thomas and eugene levy . story by david h . steinberg and adam herz . screenplay by adam herz . directed by j . b . rogers . rated r . approx . 115 minutes . american pie 2 is filled with laughs . but they are mostly cheap ones built primarily upon sexual degradation and adolescent humor more fit for a locker room than a movie theater . i'm no prude and i admit to laughing along with everyone else at the preview screening to this sequel to the 1999 hit comedy . but the laughs are built on discomfort and embarrassment , not on any intrinsic humor from within the story itself . what separates american pie 2 from its predecessor is heart . of the original , i noted it was " a warm , pleasant outing about the travails of growing up . " well , the quartet of chums - jim ( jason biggs ) , oz ( chris klein ) , kevin ( thomas ian nicholas ) and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) - have grown up . at least they are a year older , but don't seem any wiser . fresh from their first year of college the quartet , along with the obnoxious stifler ( seann william scott ) , rent a summer house by the lake in order to attract girls in an attempt to score . as usual nothing goes right until the last reel . but what we are left with is five guys spending nearly two hours drooling over various young women . and american pie 2 is rather degrading to women . for the most part , they are not shown as individuals . they are nothing more than potential recipients of over-active , raging hormones . it is telling that the most normal couple , oz and heather ( mena suvari ) spend the bulk of the film trying to have phone sex - she's overseas on an exchange student program . despite having been to college , jim is still klutzy and awkward , unsure of himself around the opposite sex . most of the pratfalls and humiliations are heaped upon him , including a painful episode involving an instant glue-like substance . also uncomfortable to watch is a sequence involving three of the lads with two young women roommates , whom the boys suspect of being lesbians . it is offensive and plays upon outdated , adolescent stereotypes to generate laughs . the first film , despite some raunchy moments , had an innocent charm to it . the sequel is more cynical . it knows what its predominantly male audience members want and unabashedly gives it to them : the many mentions of finch's encounter with stifler's mom becomes a tiresome running gag throughout as does eugene levy's return as jim's well-meaning , trying-to-be-hip dad . the only performer who is actually given some new , fresh material is alyson hannigan as michelle , the band geek from the original . in the sequel , she imbues her character with vulnerability , wisdom and maturity . american pie 2 is a pre-sold commodity that will earn several million at the box office . it is a shame , though , that in its rush to rake in some bucks screenwriter adam herz , who also penned the original , could not have set his sights higher . american pie 2 is funny , but it's still a comedown as well as a letdown . bob bloom is the film critic at the journal and courier in lafayette , in . he can be reached by e-mail at <a href= " mailto : bloom@journal-courier . com " >bloom@journal-courier . com</a> or at <a href= " mailto : bobbloom@iquest . net . " >bobbloom@iquest . net . </a> other reviews by bloom can be found at www . jconline . com by clicking on golafayette . bloom's reviews also can be found on the web at the internet movie database : <a href= " http : //www . imdb . com/m/reviews_by ? bob + bloom " >http : //www . imdb . com/m/reviews_by ? bob + bloom</a> 
