American Pie 2 DVD Review

While it was never going to be the sort of film that would set the world on fire when it came to visual flair, American Pie 2 still deserves better than the transfer its receives here. On the plus side the image is anamorphically framed at the correct 1.85:1 aspect ratio and the source print is free from specks, grain and digital artefacting. On the negative side, the film looks incredibly dark, far more so than it did on its theatrical run. Because of this flaw most fine detail in the image is lost and skin tones look somewhat artificial.

Even if it isn't the best you've ever heard, the audio presentation on this disc is at least considerably superior to the picture quality. The only problems here belong to the source material which never really bothers to do anything with the surround speakers. It really is a very basic mix, with dialogue pinned to the centre speakers and subtle ambient sound playing out of the rears. Even the party sequences never really open the mix out to its full potential. As it is, it's slightly odd that Columbia TriStar saw fit to include both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS audio mixes on the disc when other, more deserving titles haven't offered you the choice.

The disc provides a healthy selection of additional features including two fairly futile but fun featurettes (The Baking of American Pie 2 and Good Times with the Cast and Crew), five minutes of outtake footage, a couple of deleted scenes, a collection of 'classic' clips, audition tapings of Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas (why this wasn't included on the original American Pie disc is a complete mystery), a music video and the disc is finished off with a brace of audio commentaries featuring input from director James B Rogers, writer Adam Herz and members of the cast.An unnecessary, but nonetheless fun sequel on a disc only let down by slightly dodgy picture quality.