Bovie Movie

Bawdy comedy American Pie was an unexpected box-office hit in 1999 and, amazingly for a sequel, the whole cast returned here, including Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari and the wonderful Eugene Levy as Jason Biggs’s embarrassing dad. The humour remains the same — rude, crude and lewd — as the gang gets together for lots of beer and sex at a beach house following their first year in college. Apple pie lover Jim (Biggs) realises he needs to improve his sexual experience when he hears the beautiful Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) is coming back to town, leading him to track down his only sexual partner (Alyson Hannigan) and ask for her advice. This involves the placing of a trumpet in an unusual location, but it might spoil your enjoyment to say where. Sure, the comedy here isn’t sophisticated and it’s often predictable, but if someone supergluing his hand to his, erm, member gets you giggling, you won’t mind a bit. 

Director Keenen Ivory Wayans spoofs 1990s teenage horror movies (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer etc) here, which seems a bit of a redundant exercise when you consider that Scream was itself a dig at the horror genre. Luckily, Wayans and family (among the writers are his brothers Shawn and Marlon, who also star) get some good laughs along the way. The film includes in-jokes and send-ups of Dawson’s Creek and The Blair Witch Project, plus a superb skit on The Matrix that will have fans chuckling. You won’t remember the plot five minutes after you’ve watched the movie, but you’ll certainly continue smiling at the rude and lewd daftness of it all. 

The second of master showman William Castle’s low-budget chillers to get over-hauled and refitted — after the favourable recycling of House on Haunted Hill in 1999 — is all fabulous production design and nothing else. Failing to capture the frightening fun of the 1959 original, director Steve Beck’s conventional treatment is a slick package of special effects with too few shocks or surprises included. Recently widowed Tony Shalhoub inherits the spectacular house of his late uncle Cyrus (F Murray Abraham). But when his family arrive to set up home in an architectural wonder constructed of glass panels and etched with arcane symbols, he learns that the 12 ghosts of the Black Zodiac are imprisoned there as part of Cyrus’s plan to unlock the gateway to hell. Saddled with predictable twists and a plodding pace, this is just another dreaded remake. 

If you thought Dumb and Dumber or There’s Something about Mary plumbed the depths of grossness, hold on to your lunch — you ain’t seen nothing yet. This laughter-packed comedy about four teenage boys who pledge to lose their virginity before prom night has enough crass gags to satisfy the most demanding fans of Porky’s-style farces. Yet it also boasts some spot-on performances from a hip young cast that includes Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, Tara Reid and Natasha Lyonne. The title refers to one of the more eye-widening sequences, in which Jim (Jason Biggs) gets a bit too friendly with his mom’s apple pie. This is definitely not one to show granny, but must-see fare for those not easily offended. 

With this messy tale of teen horror, director Wes Craven tries to reinvigorate the werewolf movie in the same way that his Scream series breathed life into the jaded slasher genre. The film stars Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg (Roger Dodger) as LA siblings who are infected by a lycanthrope after a road accident. The events that follow, as the two slowly begin to transform, aren’t so much scary as darkly amusing, with scriptwriter Kevin Williamson’s adolescent witticisms and whines to the fore. The first third of the movie is like TV’s The O.C. with added gore and light tension, giving the film an enjoyably breezy appeal that masks its surprisingly clumsy direction and ridiculous storyline. It’s only when the werewolf effects go from a teasing flash of fur to full-frontal monsters that the feature disintegrates entirely. The CGI effects are so appalling that they overshadow everything else, spoiling the creepy fun and turning a guilty pleasure into groan-worthy rubbish. 

Bill Williams (Arnold) is a down-and-out actor who is unexpectedly hired to write a sequel a la “True Lies,” the action film that made him famous more than a decade ago. When Bill learns that his co-star is Aaron Roman (Gores), a rich kid with no acting experience, what appeared to be the chance for a major comeback turns into a series of outlandish complications. As the duo embark on a journey of outrageous misadventures, the unlikely pair discover that it takes more courage to face real life challenges than it does fighting bad guys on the big screen. Although Aaron may be inexperienced in acting, his tenacious spirit, unwavering optimism and unconditional friendship turns out to be an important, enduring gift to Bill.

The frequently recurring title characters, employed by writer and director Kevin Smith as supporting players in several of his films, are put to rest with this comedy that focuses on them exclusively. Jay (Jason Mews) and Silent Bob (Smith) are a pair of stoned New Jersey slackers who have long been used as the templates for a pair of popular comic book heroes, Bluntman and Chronic. When they learn that their alter egos are to be turned into a major motion picture without their consent or compensation, the pair sets off for Hollywood to sabotage the production. Along the way, they encounter an ape, a nun (Carrie Fisher), the cast of Scooby-Doo, a Charlie’s Angels-style band of sexy women who use them as stool pigeons in a diamond heist, and an unhinged wildlife ranger (Will Ferrell). They also meet up with some regulars from the Smith canon, including Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), Brian O’Halloran as Dante Hicks, Jason Lee as Banky Edwards, Alanis Morissette as God, and actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in dual roles as themselves and two other familiar characters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back co-stars numerous other recognizable performers in roles of various sizes, including Shannen Doherty, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, Shannon Elizabeth, Tracy Morgan, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock, and George Carlin, among others.