The only question though with this release of American Pie is, is it worth it? I mean, the new two-disc set I've got in my player right now is pretty damn sweet but I already own an American Pie DVD. Should I bother? Like I said when I reviewed The Mummy Ulimate Edition, yes, get it if you are an extras freak and want a decent amount of material on American Pie 2.
I will admit that the main thing I wanted to do after watching this disc was to go see American Pie 2. While I'm not jaded enough to think that was Universal's sole intention with this disc, I just wish we could've got this packed bad boy the first time around. Oh well.
The Movie
Editor's Note:Former IGN DVD editor and all around troubled soul Alex Castle pretty much summed up the movie in his review so we're reprinting it here, both for the sake of continuity and the reasons outlined above. Suck me beautiful.
American Pie is the story of four high-school seniors, all guys, who make a pact to lose their virginity before the senior prom. The guys are of varying experience, attractiveness, and smoothness, and they all go through a series of misadventures in their efforts to get laid.
The movie gives equal time to the girls these guys are trying to bang, which makes it better than most teen sex comedies. It also is not afraid of raunchy humor, some of which is really funny. In general it's a very original, and fairly funny movie.
The performances are pretty solid across the board, though I can't remember any of the guys' names. The girls I remember-- Tara Reid (aka Bunny Lebowski), Mena Suvari (from American Beauty), Natasha Lyonne (from Slums of Beverly Hills), Shannon Elizabeth (from your dreams), and particularly Alyson Hannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who completely steals the movie with the best joke that the trailers didn't give away.
As far as the difference between the unrated version and the theatrical version: I believe that the scene with Nadia is a little more explicit, the sex book has a few more racy pictures, and the pie gag is a little more intense. If you're considering buying this disc in hopes of seeing plumbing shots or Nadia's you-know-what, don't. The differences are minimal.
7 out of 10
The Video
Looks nice. Alex had noted an earlier problem in Chapter 16 and in the "Suck me beautiful" scene but those have been taken care of. There are two presentations of the film: widescreen anamorphic and a full frame feature as well. I, of course, only watched the anamorphic version all the way through and can pronounce it clean. Look for the game sequences as true color tests.
9 out of 10
The Audio
Here again are two versions: a 5.1 Dolby Digital and a DTS version. The DTS version was way more aggressive and I don't care what people say: It sounds better. (Oops, there goes the letters page for the next few weeks.) The extras are in varying formats but also of generally good quality. I thought the party at Stifler's house (the first one) has some wonky things going on in the mix but I guess parties are hard to loop. Whatever. There is not one thing to moan about here. Perfectly decent mix but those with super expensive sound systems who dig big booty bass and wide dispersion might be kind of bored.
8 out of 10
The Extras
Whoa girl! Damn! We're packed here. Two full discs. I'm going to take the time to list them all out for you right here and now.
- DISC ONE:
- Feature commentary with Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Adam Herz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jason Biggs, and Seann William Scott. Funny and a thousand people talking. Kind of hard to distinguish who is saying what. Didn't listen to the whole thing though Sorry fellas.
- Outtakes -- hilarious. About 8 or 9 of them. All one piece, not broken out individually.
- Deleted scenes -- a few gems but good cuts overall. Still time-coded.
- Photographic montage from the set with the Weitz brothers.
- American Pie 2 Sneak Preview -- the standard HBO-ish thing, showing some new scenes.
- Tonic -- "You Wanted It" music video
- Tonic -- Live performance. Tonic? Exactly.
- Classic quotes -- arranged by scene, this takes you directly to the point in the movie long enough to hear the quote.
- Theatrical trailer for American Pie
- Theatrical trailer for American Pie 2
- A BOATLOAD of different poster concepts .. even from back in the day when it was called East Great Falls High.
- Production Notes
- Cast and Filmmakers bios
- Box art from 10 DVDs in one of those "recommendations" things
- Disc Two
Now, about the packaging. What is this? It is a tri-fold but it is missing some way to hold it together like a snap or a strip of velcro ... something! It's nicely done, kind of cool and clear, but after opening it, you'll never get it closed again.
9 out of 10
Okay, well, that's about it. Don't be fooled by the two-disc factor. There is nothing new on the second disc that I could see. But there's enough on the first one to merit checking it out.