AMERICAN PIE PRESENTS: THE BOOK OF LOVE - Blu-ray review

"The Book of Love" is the fourth direct-to-video sequel that tarnishes the "American Pie" legacy that began with the classic 1999 film that starred Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Tara Reid, Chris Klein and made a star out of Shannon Elizabeth for her impressive physique. Eugene Levy is the only actor from the original theatrical trilogy that has starred in the four video sequels and one wonders how much more mileage Levy can get out of his character Noah Levenstein. Each new film has another character with the last name of Stiffler and these thin connections to the original film keeps the name "American Pie" alive and as long as teen humor, sex and tits and ass sells, there can always be more "American Pie" films. It is just a shame that originality has been thrown out the window as Universal continues to milk this dry cash cow.

In this seventh "American Pie" film, the latest Stifler sibling is Scott (John Patrick Jordan) and he is joined by characters Rob Shearson (Bug Hall), Nathan Jenkyll (Kevin M. Horton) and Marshall Lubetsky (Brandon Hardesty). Jennifer Holland stars as the film's primary sexy symbol Ashley and she is a beautiful young woman. Heidi (Beth Behrs) and Dana (Melanie Papalia) are other leading female leads in the picture. Curtis Armstrong joins Levy as one of the few recognizable faces in the film as he portrays sex-crazed perverted teacher Mr. O'Donnell. Rosanna Arquette is one of the few memorable characters as main character Rob's mother and fellow Central Pennsylvania graduate and Poison frontman Bret Michaels has a cameo. Other cameos include tabloid has-been Kevin Federline, salesman Vince Offer and television actor Dustin "Screech" Diamond and "Fast Times" alumnus Robert Romanus.

The plot of the film is as thin as other "American Pie" direct-to-video sequels and the story takes place ten years after the original gang graduated from East Great Falls. Rob has fallen for Heidi, but is unable to tell her his feelings and Nathan continues to push his girlfriend Dana to have sex with him as she has decided to forgo her former promiscuous ways for celibacy. Rob sets fire to the library and discovers while cleaning up "The Bible," a mythical book that was created by Jim's Dad (Levy) and details everything a virgin needs to know in order to get laid. He and his friends decide to follow the Bible and lose their virginity, but the problem is that the Bible was heavily water damaged and they need to contact the original authors to reconstruct the book and they begin by partnering with Levenstein.

"The Book of Love" could have smartly included cameos by the original cast for a much needed boost. That would have given this dumb sequel some credibility, but the producers decided to simply gather as many has-beens for quick cameos. The characters share some characteristics as the original cast, but Brandon "Bug" Hall lacks Jason Biggs presence and John Patrick Jordan is certainly no Seann William Scott. Brandon Hardesty is cast in an attempt to homage the Eddie Kaye Thomas character of Paul Finch and Hardesty too fails miserably. Thomas would have been another coup for this film had he returned. While the trio of Hall, Horton and Hardesty can hardly touch the actors from the original film, the female leads are even more unimportant and two dimensional and only serve to show how poor the lead male characters are. They are attractive and only Holland stands a shot at becoming this films version of Shannon Elizabeth, but it is a slim shot.

I continue to scratch my head with every subsequent direct-to-video sequel. The films are directly targeted to a male audience and let's be honest; the films are marketed wholly for their nude content and if teenage and young men weren't so enamored by naked breasts, there would be no reason to make these films. Humor misses the mark for nearly every joke and the series has dipped so lo as to kill off a denture-wearing senior citizen who gives great blowjobs. That was the high point of the film. "Scrubs"-esque dream sequences provide much of the nudity and they aren't nearly as impressive as the moment in the first film where Shannon Elizabeth shed her clothing.

"American Pie: The Book of Love" is formulaic and continues to do exactly what the previous three direct-to-video films did. They showed tits and provided mild and crude sexual humor. There is a foul moment based upon a peanut butter sandwich, but this film borrows very heavily from the first film in ways that hardly pay respect to the original trilogy that contained something this film does not have; a story arc. "American Pie" helped the sex comedy genre heavily after the "Porky's" and "Revenge of the Nerds" legacies were long forgotten. It is time for another story and something fresh to carry on the torch that was started ten years ago and let the "American Pie" legacy have a chance to be forgotten as well. These direct-to-video films are retreads of tires that went flat years ago.

Video:

This latest "American Pie" opus arrives in high definition with a clean 1.78:1 transfer. The film benefits from a direct transfer to the digital realm and there are no flaws to mention and coloring and detail are both solid. The film has a good film-like appeal that does not look over-processed and while I didn't necessarily enjoy watching the picture, I did appreciate the very nicely saturated colors and crisp detail. For those watching this "American Pie" film for the reason that they are still created, the female nudity is crystal clear as well. But then again, so is the grandma with the removable dentures. Watch at your own risk. Black levels are solid and there is no edge enhancement or other familiar foes to the format. The film ain't great, but the picture is pretty spiffy.

Audio:

The film arrives with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that is as pedestrian as a soundtrack gets. It does nothing wrong, but it doesn't excel anywhere either. The film's score by David Lawrence and the licensed soundtrack selections are a far cry from the original "American Pie" films, but they sound fair enough. Vocals are clean and there aren't a bunch of audio effects, but the parties shown in the film sound pretty good. Sound does come from every channel and it is technically sufficient, but not impressive. There are also French and Spanish DTS 5.1 soundtrack selections for foreign language support and subtitles are provided for English DSH and both French and Spanish.

Extras:

"American Pie: The Book of Love" is fairly nicely equipped for a direct-to-video release. The film includes two versions, the Unrated Version and the Rated Version of the film. There is a little more nudity in the slightly longer unrated version. The disc boots up to a few promotional clips before the disc spins, but I am interested in the sequel to "Smokin' Aces." The disc also contains the latest and greatest in interactive technology with BD-Live access to the BD-Live Center to download promotional clips. This also allows for Social Blu linking to Facebook and other popular social media outlets. The disc also allows Pocket Blu iPhone and iTouch functionality to use your Apple device as either a remote control or to carry the bonus features on the go.

There are a little more than a handful of standalone materials. The menu first provides access to the collection of Deleted Scenes (11:21). There are a number of scenes and they are lumped together as one long feature. Nothing in this set particularly stands out, but if you enjoyed the film you are likely to enjoy the bonus material. The Gag Reel (3:59) is next. I was surprised at the green screen in the first clip. Bret Michaels claims to be an idiot and there are a couple other funny bits. From the Set (19:23) is a collection of ten vignettes that were shot while making the film to help promote the picture. I'm not sure if they were used on the web or not, but they can be funny.

The remaining items are still noteworthy. The most substantial is the On the Set of American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (8:07) and director John Putch tries to provide a new approach to a behind-the-scenes feature by showing scenes being filmed and then promoting the film. It is short, but decent. Just the Tips: The Love Manual (5:50) has Bug Hall discussing the book used in the film and providing a few ‘love tips' for the viewer. It might have some helpful tips for those guys out there looking for love. American Pie Trivia (8:57) has Kevin Horton sharing some trivia by asking the cast and crew questions about the franchise. American Pie-cons (7:14) talks about the cameos in the film. My Scenes bookmarking is also used.

Closing:

There isn't a lot to say to support "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love." The film isn't the worst thing I've ever seen, but it is a far cry from the hilarious original stories that began the franchise. The magic is missing and Universal seems intent on just throwing out more "Presents" themed sequels to capitalize on the name. The movie is just uninspired and formulaic. The release itself is average on all accounts. The picture quality is good as is the sound quality, but "The Book of Love" isn't going to stand out. There are some bonus materials that does help this feel a bit more important than just another direct-to-video release, but at the end of the day that is exactly what it is; a direct-to-video release.