A man tells his tale of how he turned his miserable life around and turned everyone else's upside down as a result.

Anyone who's watched just about any teenage film knows that the greatest evil in this world isn't chemical warfare, ethnic cleansing, or even the nuclear bomb. The worst crime known to man? Why, virginity, of course. As we've learned from countless films--from Summer of '42 to Risky Business--virginity is a criminal burden that one must shed oneself of as quickly as possible. And while many of these films have given the topic a bad name, American Pie quietly sweeps in and gives sex some of its dignity back. Dignity, you may say? How can a film that highlights intercourse with fruit pies, premature ejaculation broadcast across the Internet and the gratuitous "gross-out" shots restore the dignity of a genre that's been encumbered with such heavyweights as Porky's and Losin' It? The plot of American Pie may be typical, with four high-school friends swearing to "score" before the prom, yet the film rises above the muck with its superior cast, successful and sweet humour and some actually rather retro values about the meaning and importance of sex. Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas make up the odd quartet of pals determined to woo, lie and beg their way to manhood. The young women they pursue are wary girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid), choir girl Heather (Mena Suvari), band geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and just about any other female who is willing and able. Natasha Lyonne as Jessica, playing a similar role as in Slums of Beverly Hills, is the general advisor to the crowd (when Vicky tells her "I want it to be the right time, the right place," Jessica responds, "It's not a space shuttle launch, it's sex"). The comedic timing hits the mark--especially in the deliberately awkward scenes between Jim (Biggs) and his father (Eugene Levy). And, of course, lessons are learned in this genuinely funny film, which will probably please the adult crowd even more than it will the teenage one. --Jenny Brown

Sometimes you just don't need to change the recipe. Like its predecessor, American Pie 2 is superficially full of gross-out laddishness, but there’s a moral tale lurking beneath all the jokes about masturbation, voyeurism and men's sexual prowess--or their lack of it. Jim (Jason Biggs) spends his first summer home from college trying to get himself ready for Nadia, the Czech woman he almost slept with in the first film. He goes to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), his actual first partner, for pointers on technique--and learns lessons he did not expect. His friends--Finch, Oz, Kevin and the appalling Stiffler--are similarly educated during their summer vacation. This is a film that boasts many profoundly dirty jokes, but gets away with this lewd, crude and rude behaviour due to its charm and charisma.

On the DVD: the DVD is packed with special features, including commentaries by director James B Rogers, writer Adam Herz and various cast members as well as an outtakes section, some deleted scenes and a music video. There’s a standard "making of" ("baking of") feature with some likable cast interviews that stress the friendliness of the set. There are subtitle options in English and Hindi, and the feature is presented in an anamorphic widescreen ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound that does justice to both the raucously loud rock score and the sparky dialogue. --Roz Kaveney

Another outing for those crazy kids that like apple pie a little too much... Life has moved on, and it's time for our hero to marry - cue lots of disasters, and no doubt, an apple pie...