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Stifler’s Dad Was Supposed to Be in ‘American Pie 2,’ But Test Audiences Hated Him

The divorced patriarch of the Stifler family had his own subplot originally

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The first sequel to 1999’s American Pie—appropriately titled American Pie 2—went into production 25 years ago this month. Returning for the follow-up to the box-office hit were many of the same cast members from the original film, with Jason Biggs once again appearing as Jim Levenstein, Eddie Kaye Thomas playing Paul Finch, and Seann William Scott reprising his role as Steve Stifler. This time, Jim and his high school buddies are home from college and decide to rent a beach house, where they plan to throw wild parties all summer long. Stifler’s dad, Rick, even gets in on the fun at one point, but…yeah, you don’t remember that part, do you? That’s because by the time the movie got released, Rick Stifler was nowhere to be found.

However, he was partying with the gang in the original cut, that’s for sure. And we’re not talking about some blink-and-you-miss-it cameo or anything like that; there was an entire deleted subplot featuring the elder Stifler, who was played by Reservoir Dogs star Chris Penn (a.k.a. Sean Penn’s younger brother). As screenwriter Adam Herz explains in the 2003 featurette American Pie: Beneath the Crust Vol. 2, “The original idea was to have this guy show up. He was supposed to be this crazy, funny, super-Stifler guy.” Or, as Penn described the character, “He’s an a—–e, he never grew up. He’s still a high school kid in a 40-year-old’s body.”

Stifler’s dad makes a nuisance of himself in just about every scene he’s in, with the exception of the time he inadvertently helps Finch have a tantric orgasm by massaging his shoulders. Otherwise, his presence isn’t appreciated by anyone other than his son, which culminates in a physical altercation between Rick and Finch after he refuses to leave the beach house one night. According to director J.B. Rogers, all of this was initially included to explain why Stifler is the way he is. Test audiences, however, couldn’t have been less interested in exploring the darker side of things.

Rick Stifler rated poorly during early screenings and was cut from the film as a result. Regarding the feedback they received, Rogers revealed, “They like Stifler just to be Stifler. No explanation needed. He doesn’t need to be analyzed, or we don’t need Dr. Freud to show up and figure all this out.” In defense of Penn’s performance, though, Rogers said, “It could’ve been Tom Hanks playing the role. It had nothing to do with Chris Penn. It was the character.”

Check out some of Penn’s deleted scenes in the clip below.

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