American Pie: Book of Love is a tragedy. I'm a huge fan of the series, I actually saw all of the direct2DVD sequels multiple times and didn't actually hate them, so I'm not expecting much from these movies. I know they aren't masterpieces, but the original series holds a place in my heart and the spinoffs usually contain bits and pieces of the charm of the originals.Not so with Book of Love. I really couldn't find one redeeming thing about this godforsaken film. I guess Eugene Levy helped a little bit. But unlike other "American Pie Presents" spinoffs, this movie didn't try to expand on a different area of the American Pie story (such as Erik Stifler in Naked Mile and Beta House, or Matt Stifler in Band Camp). Instead, this takes places 10 years after the original and besides Scott Stifler (I forget how he's supposed to be related) and a few small references to Nadia (incorrectly pronounced) the film might as well not be using the American Pie name. I suppose you could say the same about the other direct2DVD movies, but at least those were not so terrible that I want to forget the exist. The characters are incredibly bland, forgettable and don't evoke any sympathy; most of all Scott Stifler, who delivers his lines as if he is reciting tax code. Maybe it's just my nostalgia, but in the original American Pie, the guys were sex obsessed, sure, but they actually had sympathy for other human beings. The character who is basically a clone of Kevin in this movie is a complete asshole. The fat character does nothing but fantasize about the cheerleader character for her body and then makes some eye-rolling impassioned speech 5 minutes to the end of the movie about how he actually just cares about her as a person. THAT IS COMPLETELY INCONSISTENT WITH THE ENTIRE MOVIE. All of the actions in the movie feel like they come out of some bizzaro world where female's thoughts and actions are controlled by 12-year-old boys. Girls have absolutely no issue with open mouth tongue kissing in front of a camera, girls immediately decide to have sex with a guy who is propositioning a completely different girl just because he said he would pleasure her, girls drag guys into changing rooms at a lingerie store and strip for them before coercing them into shoplifting, anything.Every scene is so incredibly disjointed and utterly pointless. You would think a movie about the BOOK OF LOVE would actually focus on said book. No. Instead it is introduced and they try out 1 single technique-- the mystical art of flattery before the writers seem to completely forget about the book until the "putting it back together montage" at which point the book is reassembled.... and there is 20 minutes left. God damn it. This is what the book should have been about: contacting all of the people who previously wrote in the book and reconstructing it. Instead it is condensed into a 5 minute montage and used for no other reason than to tie up what is essentially a subplot based on how little importance it is given in terms of the actual story. Even after the book is reconstructed the guys basically make no use of it besides doing the "tongue tornado". I don't even want to talk about the scene where Stifler is literally raped by a CGI moose. That is basically a big middle finger to the American Pie series, it's fans, and basically anyone watching. Just their way of saying "hey, we don't care about this garbage film at all".The entire movie boils down to some shoehorned "message" about having sex with someone you really care about, I guess. It's more like they were obligated by some organization to put in a mandatory moral message. It's pretty hard to take such a message seriously when the previous scene literally involved someone being raped by a moose (seriously, I can't get over that).

Rob (Bug Hall) accidentally sets fire to the library after discovering Heidi (Beth Behrs) making out with a guy. While cleaning up, he finds the Bible hidden under the shelves. Nathan (Kevin M. Horton) is in love with Dana (Melanie Papalia) who is in love with The Lord. Lube (Brandon Hardesty) is even more hopeless. The three friends put the Bible to the test but water damage has left it ruined. Now they must reconstruct it with the help of Mr. Levenstein (Eugene Levy).The guys aren't compelling or charismatic. Everybody looks like they're in their 20s at least. The only interesting thing is to see Beth Behrs. Even that doesn't hold my attention. It's just boring. This is a new low for the American Pie B-side. I would hope that the movie would accidentally stumble onto a funny joke. The guys (and girls) are so bad and so lackluster that it becomes a hopeless endeavor. It's only an exercise to show some T&A for the guys.

Q: How many scenes with bare tits did we have on the number 6 of the American Pie squeeze-out? A: ehrm, five, mister money-making producer. Then make it seven in this thing! And make up something that can justify that we call it American pie!And so it were. A truckload of breasts (not bad for a teen movie, I must admit. And I'm glad to see how they parted from the apparent"silicone only"-track from the earlier movies). And some vague connection to the infamous "Book of Love" and Jim's farther, the untireable Eugene Levy. But what a weak film. Not worthy of the name, I must say. The laughs are all of the over-the-top style, which is very different from the earlier films, which were much more embarrassment-based, thus creating laughs alongside with building sympathy for the main characters. This is completely lost, and makes for 1 ½ hours + with seldom laughs and characters you don't care about. Even spiked with a load of boobs, it's a cocktail not worth drinking.

Although this is often regarded as a spin off, I feel it would be more truthful to call it a reboot. Well, that's what it feels like anyway.The first three spin offs focused completely on the Stifler family. Whilst Band Camp was a good effort with some promise, Naked Mile and Beta House just felt cheap, lacklustre and extremely stupid. It was because of these two, I felt, that made it necessary to bring the franchise back to basics. And due to 'Reunion' not beginning production until a year later, 'The Book of Love' does just that.First of all, I must say that the casting for this film worked relatively well. Of course, the characters were no where near as great as the original cast but they are in fact memorable in there own little ways. Bug Hall, who plays a Jim like character, feels extremely natural and actually pulls off a very likable performance. Brandon Hardesty, fresh from YouTube fame, is good but I feel he could have been used far more comically. He has shown a vast amount of talent for anyone who has viewed his You Tube re-enactment videos and he just falls in this picture a tad in the 'he's just there' category. Kevin M. Horton is comedy gold, a key scene in my mind is shortly after a mishap in a burlesque house, but I do feel he over acts just slightly. It doesn't necessarily distract you from the film but his performance just isn't as natural as Hall's. The female cast all have fairly standard performance's with none jumping out as memorable. However, Louisa Lytton, fresh from Eastender's, just feels unnecessary and out of place. Eugene Levy still stands strong with some real funny lines and scenes in this particular instalment but that's what we come to expect from the 'Pie' veteran. A lot of people have a problem with John Patrick Jordan as Scott Stifler. Although it definitely wasn't a good performance, it wasn't unbearably bad. He is only a re-occurring character which means that you don't necessarily have to withstand him for too long of a scene. Also, I felt that people may have been slightly unfair towards his portrayal. In my opinion, it's a fresh family member of the Stifler family and is actually deliciously dark as well. He seems ever-so-slightly more smug and plotting than other Stifler's possibly because he's quite literally high strung due to his name's legacy. However, I digress.The plot is standard teen film. Three high school friends look to get laid and get into all kinds of blunders doing so. There's a nice nod to the main franchise with 'The Bible' element as well as a few references to past characters. Whilst not overly different from your standard teen comedy, it does do it's job well and offers up quite a few laughs along the way. Despite this, there are a few shortcomings that can hinder your enjoyment. There are a few scenes in which CG is used and when it is, it's horrible. It literally looks like it was pulled out of a badly designed Playstation 2 game. Also, some plot lines seemingly come out of no where such as Jennifer Holland's character's frustration at being thought of as a 'trophy'. Another criticism would be that whilst the three leads all offer good chemistry and performances, there friendship seemed undeveloped. We didn't see enough scenes of the three just hanging out or having a laugh. Overall, if your looking for a cheap rental comedy then perhaps pick this one up. You might find it enjoyable. If your a fan of the American Pie series but felt that Naked Mile and Beta House left you with a bad taste in your mouth, much like me, there is enjoyment and hilarity found in this film somewhere. If you preferred the preceding two then this sort of film probably isn't your cup of tea. However, I found it likable, funny and in some areas moving but was too full of those little flaws to make it a classic teen comedy.