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American Pie Presents: Beta House

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American Pie Presents: Beta House
DVD cover
Directed byAndrew Waller
Written byErik Lindsay
Produced byW. K. Border
StarringJohn White
Steve Talley
Christopher McDonald
Eugene Levy
Robbie Amell
CinematographyGerald Packer
Edited byRod Dean
Andrew Somers
Music byJeff Cardoni
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
December 26, 2007
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budgetless than $10 million[1]
Box office$18,610,260[2]

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

Universal commissioned the film after positive commercial reaction to The Naked Mile. Erik Lindsay and W.K. Border, the writer and producer, respectively, as well as four of the five principal cast members from the preceding film returned. Principal photography took place for seven to eight weeks from June 4, 2007, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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. It received generally negative reviews from film critics.

Plot

After his girlfriend Tracy breaks up with him, Erik Stifler and his friend Mike "Cooze" Coozeman arrive at the University of Michigan as freshmen. On arriving at his dorm, Erik meets a girl named Ashley Thomas while she is taking a shower in the coed bathrooms. He then meets his new roommate Bobby and his girlfriend Margie while they are having sex. Erik is then welcomed by his cousin, Dwight Stifler, the leader of the Beta House fraternity, who invites Erik, Cooze, and Bobby to a Beta House party. They meet Wesley, the rush chair of Beta House who experiences blackouts after drinking alcohol, and learn how they can gain eligibility to pledge for the Beta House. They are also informed by Dwight that the Geek House, formed by wealthy nerds, has been trying to shut down Beta House.

Erik and Ashley begin dating, but on their first date at a restaurant, Erik has hot soup spilled accidentally on his legs, so Ashley brings him to her room to clean up. As Ashley rubs lotion on Erik's thigh, he develops an involuntary erection and accidentally ejaculates over her possessions. Erik apologizes and explains to Ashley that, after breaking up with Tracy, he has not ejaculated in four months, masturbation being a taboo in his house because of a previous incident. Meanwhile, Cooze falls in love with Ashley's roommate Denise; however, she is nervous about showing her genitalia and having sex with him, so she gives Cooze a handjob instead. After talking with Erik, Bobby, and Dwight about Denise, Cooze develops suspicions that Denise might have a penis, so Dwight encourages him to find out.

Along with two other pledges, Erik, Cooze, and Bobby complete fifty tasks to pledge the Beta House, including: getting their posteriors signed by a stripper, having sex with a professor, marrying a fellow pledge in Canada, and placing a live ostrich in the Geek House. While completing these tasks the Beta House members are banned from the Silver Dollar, their favorite strip club and bar, after the Geek House buys the locale. After they complete their final task (stealing something from the Geek House), Edgar, the president of the Geek House, challenges the Beta House to the Greek Olympiad, with the winners taking the loser's House. Before the competition starts, Dwight learns from Rock that while attempting to join the midget fraternity, Edgar had sex with a sheep previously.

Being the Olympiad's last winner, Beta House alumnus Noah Levenstein returns to campus to officiate the competition. The first game is won by Beta House as Dwight and Edgar compete in removing girls' brassieres. Geek House win the next three matches: a pugil bout turned lightsaber duel, catching a greased pig, and a two-person "69" race. Beta House wins the fifth and sixth competitions: a Russian roulette challenge between Dwight and Edgar with aged horse semen; and a beer drinking competition between all members of both Houses ultimately won by Wesley via a keg stand

During the final striptease challenge, Beta House uses Edgar's sheep fetish against him with Margie wearing a sheep costume, resulting in the Geek House losing the Greek Olympiad. Having won the Geek House mansion as well as its members, the Beta House hosts a toga party, while Erik comes up with the idea of a new pledge task for the Beta House – having sex in a movie theater. He does so with Ashley in a makeshift theater in his room. Meanwhile, Cooze and Denise finally sleep together, and Cooze discovers that what Denise is hiding is the fact that she ejaculates during sex, much to his excitement.

The following morning, Wesley wakes up after a blackout and discovers that he had sex with the Geek House female bodybuilder. In a post-credits scene, Edgar instructs a stripper at the Silver Dollar to dance with the headpiece of the sheep costume.

Cast

Production

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile, the second installment of the American Pie Presents 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."[3] 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.[4] The film's screenplay was based on characters by Adam Herz and on aspects of Lindsay's own life.[5][6] Lindsay felt that Universal being unworried about making the film similar to Animal House provided "more opportunities to keep the story organic," which he found the challenge of writing a sequel.[3]

The film features the same principal cast as The Naked Mile are John White, Steve Talley, Christopher McDonald and Eugene Levy reprise their roles from the preceding film. Levy returned to play Noah Levenstein for his sixth time of American Pie franchise.[7] Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment said: "we think he [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 reprise their roles from The Naked Mile.[7]

Principal photography began on June 4, 2007, and lasted about "seven [to] eight weeks."[8][9] Filming took place at the University of Toronto, Pinewood Toronto Studios and at the Brass Rail strip club in Toronto.[5][10][11] Neo Art & Logic, Rogue Pictures and Universal Pictures produced the film on a budget of less than $10 million.[1] The film was intended to be the center of a trilogy beginning with The Naked Mile and although talks for a concluding sequel were held, one has yet to materialise.[5][12]

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 marketed with the tagline "the most outrageous slice of pie!"[7] 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 service announcement, featurettes, outtakes, a mock in-character interview with Noah Levenstein, music videos by God Made Me Funky, and a 30 Rock episode.[13] 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 898,000 units in the United States, with $18.55 million in revenue.[2]

The film received generally negative reviews from film critics. 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."[14] 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."[15] 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."[13] 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."[16] 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."[17] 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!"[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Barnes, Brooks (28 January 2008). "Direct-to-DVD Releases Shed Their Loser Label". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "American Pie Presents: Beta House – DVD Sales". The Numbers. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b Topel, Fred. "Interview with Erik Lindsay from American Pie Presents: Beta House". About.com. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  4. ^ Vukcevic, Filip. "Set Visit: American Pie Presents: Beta House – Part One – Page 1". IGN. Retrieved 5 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c Vukcevic, Filip. "Set Visit: American Pie Presents: Beta House – Part Two – Page 1". IGN. Retrieved 24 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Lindsay's Movies Pay Off Partying Debts". World Entertainment News Network. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b c American Pie Presents: Beta House (DVD) (Standard ed.). Universal Pictures. 10 December 2007.
  8. ^ "From Universal Studios Home Entertainment- American Pie Presents: Beta House Begins Principal Photography in Toronto". PR Newswire. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  9. ^ Vukcevic, Filip. "Set Visit: American Pie Presents: Beta House – Part Two – Page 2". IGN. Retrieved 3 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ a b American Pie Presents: Beta House (DVD) (Unrated ed.). Universal Pictures. 10 December 2007.
  11. ^ Spence, Rebecca (12 April 2011). "From Universal Studios Home Entertainment- American Pie Presents: Beta House Begins Principal Photography in Toronto". National Post. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Topel, Fred. "Interview with John White from American Pie Presents: Beta House". About.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  13. ^ a b Robinson, Jeffrey (12 January 2008). "American Pie Presents: Beta House". DVD Talk. Retrieved 3 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ Cook, LaRue (4 January 2008). "American Pie Presents: Beta House". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Weinberg, Scott (17 December 2007). "DVD Review: American Pie Presents Beta House". Moviefone. Retrieved 24 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Quigley, Adam. "American Pie Presents: Beta House DVD review by The Digital Dorm". Joblo.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  17. ^ Teh, Hock (30 December 2007). "American Pie Presents: Beta House (Unrated) DVD Review". IGN. Retrieved 3 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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