AMERICAN PIE 2 rebakes with the same gang two years later. For this 2001 crowd-teaser, $30,000,000 was expended, nearly three time as much as the first Pie. Lightning struck twice: it also out-uh,-grossed the original, the $287,600,000 haul tagging it the 13th most-seen flick of the year. Again written by Adam Herz, directed this time by James B. Rogers. Glue and trumpets figure.   “Aren’t instruments fun?”

The plot (as if?)—a summer at the beach—this time focuses more on ‘Jim’ (Jason Biggs), ‘Stiffler’ (Sean William Scott) and ‘Finch’ (Eddie Kaye Thomas) than buds ‘Oz’ (Chris Klein) and ‘Kevin’ (Thomas Ian Nicholas), while with the ladies more attention goes to ‘Michelle’ (Alyson Hannigan) and ‘Nadia’ (Shannon Elizabeth) and less to ‘Vicki’ (Tara Reid), ‘Heather’ (Mena Suvari) and ‘Jessica’ (Natasha Lyonne). Bad taste is a given, but like the first time, there are a good number of laughs, and the castmates are still likable.

111 minutes, with Eugene Levy, Chris Owen, Denise Faye, Lisa Arturo, Eli Marienthal, John Cho, Casey Affleck, George Wyner, Joelle Carter. Jennifer Coolidge (‘Stiffler’s mom’) cameos when the time is right. Followed two years later by American Wedding.

Good sports Lisa Arturo and Denise Faye raise the temp