Movie Info
Movie Name: American Pie Present: The Book of Love
Studio: Capital Arts Entertainment
Genre(s): Comedy
Release Date(s): October 31, 2005/ December 26, 2005 (US)
MPAA Rating: Unrated
The Book of Love will live forever!
Rob Shearson (Bug Hall), Nathan Jenkyll (Kevin M. Horton), and “Lube” Lubetsky (Brandon Hardesty) are three high school guys who can’t seem to go all the way. When they discover the mystical “Book of Love” after a fire in the library, they hope the techniques of decades of guys like them can help them find their dreams…unfortunately, the Book of Love has been damaged and is incomplete and it is up to Rob, Lube, and Nathan and the Book’s creator Noah Levenstein (Eugene Levy) to restore the Book of Love to its rightful glory.
Directed by John Putch, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love is a direct-to-DVD teen sex comedy. The movie is the seventh film of the American Pie series to be released and followed American Pie Presents: Beta House from 2007. The film was widely panned by critics.
It’s like Porky’s but less classy (which is hard to say with a straight face)
I am not a real fan of the American Pie series, but the only thing worse than an American Pie movie is a truly generic American Pie movie…and that is what American Pie Presents: The Book of Love feels like.
The movie has all the expected pieces of a sex romp. It has the girl who won’t put out, the girl who doesn’t know her best friend likes her, and the dork who dreams of a girl that is way out of his league. It is very formulaic and everything that you expect to happen happens. Plus, since it is an American Pie movie, you also have a Stifler who says and does raunchy stuff.
The cast is also a step below the film versions of the series. The leads are smiley, fresh faced teens, but none of them seem to have much personality. The movie features Rosanna Arquette as the mother with Eugene Levy returning as the Book’s creator. With the Book’s writers, you get cameos by Dustin Diamond (aka Screech from Saved by the Bell), C. Thomas Howell (aka Ponyboy from The Outsiders), Christopher Knight (aka Peter Brady from The Brady Bunch), Tim Matheson (aka Otter from Animal House), Robert Romanus (aka Mike Damone from Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Bret Michaels (from Poison), and Steve Railsback (aka Charles Manson from Helter Skelter…wait, what?). Kevin Federline also appears as a toll booth operator, and Sherman Hemsley has his last film role as a pastor.
Remember all your friends talking about the part where the moose raped Stifler? Didn’t think so…
Ever since American Pie, every American Pie has tried to “out-gross” the other films leading to some disgusting stuff. Here there is bestiality involving a peanut butter sandwich and a moose sodomizing someone…yeah, the movie isn’t very high brow.
With American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, you get what you expect: a straight-to-DVD movie with straight-to-DVD laughs (or lack thereof). The movie has a few nice moments, but they are sappy and expected for the characters’ arcs and totally negated by everyone’s actions throughout the rest of the film. American Pie Presents: The Book of Love was followed by the big screen sequel to the theatrical film series American Reunion in 2012.
Related Links:
American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005)
