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The Movie: Done quickly (although with what appears to be a bit more of a budget than direct-to-video fare usually gets), "Band Camp" is not as much as sequel as a spin-off of the "American Pie" series. While not as enjoyable as the films that came before it or a particularly great movie in general, the movie has a scrappy, rather goofy quality that works in its favor. The movie stars newcomer Tad Hilgenbrink as Matt Stiffer, younger brother of Seann William Scott's character from the prior three films. After playing a prank on the school band, Matt is sentenced by Sherman (Chris Owen, playing the character from the prior films) to work at Band Camp, or face being expelled from school. Although upset at the punishment, Matt decides to make it work for him: he'll make a "Band Geeks Gone Wild" video, similar to the "Girls Gone Wild"-style videos that his older brother's now producing. The only problem? He's an outcast in the camp, and has created an enemy in Elyse (Arielle Kebbel, who looks remarkably like early Mandy Moore, to the point where one could think someone cloned Mandy Moore), a girl he used to be friends with and who ended up as the target of his latest prank. The story proceeds predictably, as we see Matt debate whether to use his time at camp for his own gain, or whether to try and be a nicer Stiffler and help the band try and win the competition (as well as win the heart of Elyse.) Tad Hilgenbrink, who wasn't Stiffler's brother in the original movies (who knows why they didn't get that actor to come back here), does a pretty good imitation of Seann William Scott's delivery, although he lacks the insanity that Scott brought to his character in the second and third films. Eugene Levy (the father of Jim from the prior films) shows up as the band camp's counselor, but isn't around much. Overall, this is a mixed effort (there's a few too many stretches with few laughs, as a few repeats of jokes from prior films and a musical nod to a song in the first film), although better than what I'd expect from a direct-to-video affair. There's a few good lowbrow laughs scattered throughout, and while Hilgenbrink is no Seann William Scott, he does a pretty good copy. Fans of the original trilogy may want to try a rental. The unrated edition is apparently 8 minutes longer. While I'm not aware of the differences, there are a few instances of female nudity throughout, which may be the added material. The DVD VIDEO: "American Pie: Band Camp" is presented by Universal Home Video in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Presentation quality is perfectly adequate, as the picture appeared mostly crisp and well-defined, aside from the occasional soft moment, such as a few low-light scenes. The presentation does have a few scattered flaws, although they're not particularly noticable. These include a couple of minor artifacts, some slight edge enhancement and a bit of shimmering. No print flaws or other concerns were seen. Colors remained natural and nicely saturated, with no smearing or other faults. SOUND: The presentation may be in Dolby Digital 5.1, but it might as well not have been. Essentially a "comedy mix", the audio is dialogue-driven and rarely - if ever - puts the surrounds to any use. Still, audio quality was fine, as dialogue was crisp and clear throughout. EXTRAS: Outtakes (a few minutes, a couple of laughs to be found), deleted scenes, "Poolside with the Band Camp Girls" (a parody of "Inside the Actor's Studio" that's pretty dumb, but still gets a laugh or two), "Band Camp Dirty Secrets" (tour of the sets with two of the actresses), "Rover Cam Uncut", "Band Camp Girls: Music Video" and "Unrated Love Lessons with Ginger Lynne". Final Thoughts: "Band Camp" has a few too many stretches without laughs (and a few repeats of jokes from the prior films), but there are definitely some funny moments and the film was better-than-expected for a direct-to-video teen comedy. Universal's DVD edition provides fine audio/video quality, as well as a few extras. Fans of the prior "Pie" films may want to give this is a rental. 
Film Grade The Film C DVD Grades Video 87/B Audio: 86/B Extras: 75/C |