American Pie 2

Rigidly following the advice that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, the humour falls into exactly the same category, the characters stay the same and the plot is, er, slightly different.

The original foursome take a summer vacation at a beach house following their last year in college.

Jim (Jason Biggs) still isn't confident about his abilities in bed and Czech beauty Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) is on her way to see him.

Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is still infatuated with Vicky (Tara Reid) but she insists the relationship remains on a 'friends only' basis.

Keanu Reeves clone Oz (Chris Klein) has to cope with a summer apart from his beloved Heather (Mena Suvari), while she enjoys the delights of Barcelona.

Intellectual Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) remembers only too well his night of passion with the mother of one of his college acquaintances... and is only too keen to repeat it.

Unfortunately, the self-same college pal, Stifler (Seann William Scott), has also joined the house party and his memories of his mother's indiscretion aren't quite as fond.

Cue the usual puerile misunderstandings and low farce as the boys spy on a couple of alleged lesbians next door, stock up with blue movies and generally ponder why things don't go their way.

If the sight of American jocks leching at every unattached female while swigging on cans of beer isn't your scene then this is one to avoid.

However, the characters are fleshed out and not mere ciphers, while some of the set pieces are genuinely funny even if they register at the vulgar end of the scale.

Particularly amusing is Jim's dad (Eugene Levy), whose attempts at being one of the boys are both acutely embarrassing and gently endearing.

Dominic Bloch