American Pie Presents: Beta House

American Pie Presents: Beta House
Home media release cover
Directed by	Andrew Waller
Produced by	W. K. Border
Written by	Erik Lindsay
Based on	characters by Adam Herz
Starring	John White Steve Talley Christopher McDonald Eugene Levy
Music by	Jeff Cardoni
Cinematography	Gerald Packer
Editing by	Rod Dean Andrew Somers
Studio	Neo Art & Logic Rogue Pictures Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	02007-12-26 December 26, 2007
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	less than $10 million[1]
Box office	$18,552,332[2]

American Pie Presents: Beta House is a 2007 American teen comedy film released by Universal Pictures. The film is the third spin-off to the American Pie film series and the sequel to the second spin-off, American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (2006). John White stars as Erik Stifler, a college freshman who pledges the Beta House fraternity lead by his cousin, Dwight Stifler (Steve Talley). Christopher McDonald co-stars as Erik's father, Harry, and Eugene Levy plays Beta House alumni, Noah Levenstein.

Universal commissioned the film after positive commercial reaction to The Naked Mile.^[1] The writer, producer and four of the five principal cast members of the preceding film returned. Filming took place for "seven, eight weeks"^[3] from June 4, 2007 in Toronto, Canada,^[4] with sets constructed at Pinewood Toronto Studios.^[5]

American Pie Presents: Beta House was released direct-to-DVD internationally on December 10, 2007 and in the United States on December 26, 2007. The film was a moderate financial success, generating US$18.55 million in United States sales. While largely overlooked by critics, it garnered generally negative reviews.

Plot

The newly single Erik Stifler (John White) is encouraged by his father, Harry (Christopher McDonald), to "crush some ass." Erik and his friend Mike "Cooze" Coozeman (Jake Siegel) arrive at college, where Erik meets Ashley (Meghan Heffern) in the coed bathrooms and fellow college freshman, his roommate Bobby (Nic Nac). Erik's cousin, Dwight Stifler (Steve Talley), invite Erik, Cooze and Bobby to a Beta House party. The trio learn about how they can gain eligibility to pledge the fraternity and meet Wesley (Jonathan Keltz). Alongside two other pledges, the trio then complete 50 tasks to pledge the Beta House fraternity, including getting their asses signed by a stripper, having sex with a professor, marrying a male friend in Canada, and placing a live ostrich in the Geek fraternity house.

After they complete their final task, stealing something from the Geek house, the Geek's president, Edgar (Tyrone Savage), challenges the Betas to the Greek Olympiad. Beta House alumni Noah Levinstein (Eugene Levy) returns to campus to officiate that contest. The first competition is won by Beta House as Dwight and Edgar compete by removing girls' bras. Beta House loses next two competitions: a light saber duel and catching a greased pig. After learning that Edgar previously had sex with a sheep, the Betas use Edgar's wool fetish against him in the final challenge, ultimately costing him and his house the tournament.

The Betas host a toga party, where Cooze, much to his relief, finally sleeps with Denise and all suspicions of her being a man are gone. The following morning, Wesley wakes up finally believing that his curse as the blackout menace is over, only to be confronted by the former Geek House bodybuilder formerly of the Geek house. In a post-credits scene, Edgar is hanging out at the Silver Dollar, sniffing the headpiece of the sheep costume and instructing a passing stripper use it for her next dance.^[6]

Cast

• John White as Erik Stifler, a freshman pledging the Beta House
• Steve Talley as Dwight Stifler, the pledge master and leader of the Beta House
• Christopher McDonald as Harry Stifler, Erik's father
• Eugene Levy as Noah Levenstein, Beta House alumni and the officiator of the Greek Olympiad
• Meghan Heffern as Ashley, Erik's love interest
• Jake Siegel as Mike "Cooze" Coozeman, Erik's friend and a freshman pledging the Beta House alongside Erik and Bobby
• Nic Nac as Bobby, Erik's roommate and a freshman pledging the Beta House alongside Erik and Cooze
• Jonathan Keltz as Wesley, a member and the rush chair of the Beta House
• Bradford Anderson as Jake Parker, a member of the Geek House

Production

Eugene Levy reprised his role as Noah Levenstein for the sixth time in the American Pie series.

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile, the second spin-off to the American Pie film series, was a commercial success, and Universal Pictures prepared for a sequel. The Naked Mile's writer, Erik Lindsay, pitched the film by saying "Look, we're not going to top Animal House of course, but it's been 25 years. I was in a fraternity for six years. Let's just make a straight pledging movie."^[7] Universal gave Lindsay the green light to write Beta House, and also hired Andrew Waller and The Naked Mile's producer, W. K. Border, as the film's director and producer, respectively.^[8] The film's executive producers were Craig Perry and Warren Zide.

The film's screenplay was based on characters by Adam Herz,^[5] and on aspects of writer Lindsay's own life.^[9] Lindsay felt that Universal being unworried to make the film similar to Animal House provided "more opportunities to keep the story organic," which he found the challenge of writing a sequel.^[7]

The film features the same principal cast as The Naked Mile,^[6] minus Jessy Schram.^[10] John White, Steve Talley, Christopher McDonald and Eugene Levy reprised their roles from the previous film, with Levy returning to play Noah Levenstein for the sixth time in the series. Craig Kornblau, the president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, said "we think he [Eugene Levy] is crucial to this franchise because his character represents the heart of the movie."^[1] Jake Siegel, Jaclyn A. Smith, Dan Petronijevic and Jordan Prentice also reprised their roles.

Principal photography began on June 4, 2007^[4] and lasted about "seven, eight weeks."^[3] Neo Art & Logic, Rogue Pictures and Universal Pictures produced the film on a budget of less than $10 million.^[1] The film was Waller's second full-length film; his first was the television film Taking Five (2007). Pinewood Toronto Studios were used for filming, namely for interior shots of the Beta House.^[5] Some scenes were shot at the Brass Rail strip club in Toronto.^[11]

The film was intended to be the center of a trilogy beginning with The Naked Mile,^[5] with talks for a concluding sequel.^[10] However, the film has not yet materalised.

Release

American Pie Presents: Beta House was released direct-to-DVD internationally on December 10, 2007 and in the United States on December 26, 2007. It was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America, due to "pervasive strong crude and sexual content, graphic nudity, language and excessive drinking," and was marketed with the tagline "the most outrageous slice of pie!"^[6] The film was released in two single-disc DVD editions. The R-rated edition included no special features, while the unrated edition included a commentary track, behind-the-scenes clips, deleted scenes and storylines, a fake public service announcement, featurettes, outtakes, a mock in-character interview with Noah Levenstein, music videos by God Made Me Funky, and a 30 Rock episode.^[12] Through its first four weeks the DVD sold over 534,000 copies in the United States, generating $12.25 million in sales.^[2] Universal Pictures expected to sell more than a million units;^[1] sales have since totaled over 897,000 units in the United States, with $18.55 million in revenue.^[2]

Reception

While largely overlooked by critics, the film has garnered generally negative reviews. LaRue Cook of Entertainment Weekly graded the film with a "D" and wrote, "what was once a fresh slice of teen comedy has become a slab of stale crudeness."^[13] Scott Weinberg of Moviefone, in his negative review, found the film "slightly more amusing to sit through than the two previous entries", in particular praising the Star Trek sexual roleplay scene as "extremely effective."^[14] DVD Talk's Jeffrey Robinson writes that "if anything, it will bore you and leave you wondering why you wasted an hour and a half of your life."^[12] Writing in JoBlo.com, Adam Quigley poked fun at the film's themes, declaring that "if there's a lesson to be taken from these films, it's that women are objects, and should always be treated as such".^[15]

However, not all reviews were negative. IGN's Hock Teh gave the film 5/10, writing that it "stays very close to the American Pie formula," while criticizing the story as "devoid of anything remotely semi-compelling or even noteworthy."^[16] Peter Hammond of Maxim describes American Pie Presents: Beta House as "loaded with sex, laughs and raunchy fun," writing that it "may be the most outrageous slice of pie yet!"^[17] Victoria Alexander said that the film "[followed] in the tradition of booze, sex, and gross behavior," noting "that is exactly what the primary audience is looking for, and they won’t be disappointed."^[18]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Barnes, Brooks (28 January 2008). "Direct-to-DVD Releases Shed Their Loser Label". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/business/media/28dvd.html. Retrieved 28 September 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "American Pie Presents: Beta House – DVD Sales". The Numbers. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2007/0AMP6-DVD.php. Retrieved 28 September 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Vukcevic, Filip. "Set Visit: American Pie Presents: Beta House -- Part Two - Page 2". IGN. http://au.dvd.ign.com/articles/842/842566p2.html. Retrieved 3 November 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "From Universal Studios Home Entertainment- American Pie Presents: Beta House Begins Principal Photography in Toronto". PR Newswire. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6732439/From-Universal-Studios-Home-Entertainment.html. Retrieved 5 November 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Vukcevic, Filip. "Set Visit: American Pie Presents: Beta House -- Part Two - Page 1". IGN. http://au.dvd.ign.com/articles/842/842566p1.html. Retrieved 24 August 2008. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} American Pie Presents: Beta House (DVD) (Standard ed.). Universal Pictures. 10 December 2007. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Topel, Fred. "Interview with Erik Lindsay from American Pie Presents: Beta House". About.com. http://movies.about.com/od/interviewswithactors/a/amerpie122207.htm. Retrieved 4 November 2011. 
8. ^ Vukcevic, Filip. "Set Visit: American Pie Presents: Beta House -- Part One - Page 1". IGN. http://au.dvd.ign.com/articles/842/842369p1.html. Retrieved 5 November 2011. 
9. ^ "Lindsay's Movies Pay Off Partying Debts". World Entertainment News Network. 3 January 2008. http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0133411/. Retrieved 4 November 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Topel, Fred. "Interview with John White from American Pie Presents: Beta House". About.com. http://movies.about.com/od/interviewswithactors/a/amerpie122207_2.htm. Retrieved 3 November 2011. 
11. ^ Spence, Rebecca (12 April 2011). "From Universal Studios Home Entertainment- American Pie Presents: Beta House Begins Principal Photography in Toronto". National Post. http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/04/12/the-american-pie-franchise-is-bigger-lamer-than-you-think/. Retrieved 5 November 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Robinson, Jeffrey (12 January 2008). "American Pie Presents: Beta House". DVD Talk. http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/31986/american-pie-presents-beta-house/. Retrieved 3 November 2011. 
13. ^ Cook, LaRue (4 January 2008). "American Pie Presents: Beta House". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20169134,00.html. Retrieved 24 August 2008. 
14. ^ Weinberg, Scott (17 December 2007). "DVD Review: American Pie Presents Beta House". Moviefone. http://blog.moviefone.com/2007/12/17/dvd-review-american-pie-presents-beta-house/. Retrieved 24 August 2008. 
15. ^ Quigley, Adam. "American Pie Presents: Beta House DVD review by The Digital Dorm". Joblo.com. http://www.joblo.com/blu-rays-dvds/reviews/1970. Retrieved 3 November 2011. 
16. ^ Teh, Hock (30 December 2007). "American Pie Presents: Beta House (Unrated) DVD Review". IGN. http://au.dvd.ign.com/articles/843/843229p1.html. Retrieved 3 November 2011. 
17. ^ American Pie Presents: Beta House (DVD) (Unrated ed.). Universal Pictures. 10 December 2007. 
18. ^ Alexander, Victoria (16 December 2007). "In the great tradition of college booze, carefree sex, and gross behavior, Beta House pushes right up against the limits of the genre.". FilmsInReview.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090503234135/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_pie_presents_beta_house/articles/1697637/in_the_great_tradition_of_college_booze_carefree_sex_and_gross_behavior_beta_house_pushes_right_up_against_the_limits_of_the_genre. 

External links

• Official site of the American Pie series.
• American Pie Presents: Beta House at the Internet Movie Database
• American Pie Presents: Beta House at the TCM Movie Database
• American Pie Presents: Beta House at AllRovi
• American Pie Presents: Beta House at Rotten Tomatoes