American Pie

Review: 'American Pie' is a comedy film directed by Paul and Chris Weitz. It is the first film in the 'American Pie' series. I was surprised to see the amount of negative reaction to this movie. I remember the first time I saw it and laughed almost the whole way through. The only problem that I had was that I couldn't accept the cast as being an average age of around 17. The performances were really great for a comedy of the 1990's. Jason Biggs stands out amongst all of them, with his dorky and desperate persona. He blends funny dialog with very funny physical comedy. Also, Alyson Hannigan who has a small but funny role is also great and she says the best line in the movie. Let's talk about Eugene Levi for a second, holy cow what a funny man this guy is. He is so natural as the over sharing father who just makes everybody either uncomfortable or laughing out loud. What can I say about this movie besides that It's a comedic classic! American Pie perfectly blends a buddy comedy, extreme gross-out humor, and dare I say a coming of age movie. It's one of those movies that is easy to predict when something bad will happen, but that's what made me laugh so hard. Some of the comedic moments are very offensive and this movie could not be made today. Overall, this movie is a crazy, outrageous, amazingly funny comedy. I recommend it to anybody who isn't easily offended and has a great sense of humor! 4/5

"So high school boys everywhere only think about sex, huh?" my Japanese wife turned to me and said about 20 minutes into "American Pie." She looked at me expectantly, as if she wanted to hear me say I was somehow different, above such base pursuits. I could tell she was mildly disappointed when I replied, "Yeah, pretty much." Eighteen-year-old boys' raging hormones is a truly universal theme.

There have been four American Pie films to date, not counting the straight-to-video releases. The film notably struck a chord with teens when it was released in 1999. I remember sitting in art class and overhearing a popular and attractive senior girl condescending to an awkward and geeky freshman boy, "You haven't seen 'American Pie'? The great American sex comedy?" I still cringe when I remember that.

If you haven't seen it, it is basically about four senior boys who make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate high school. They shrewdly determine prom is their last chance to get laid, and devote all their energy to getting a woman in bed at the after-prom party, to be held at the lake house of the cocky lacrosse player, Steve Stifler. The boys, particularly Jim, have a series of embarrassing mishaps along the way, one famously involving a warm apple pie.

"American Pie" set a new bar for teen comedies. Every teen comedy since has tried, and failed, to top the scene where Stifler unwittingly drinks a beer with a load of semen in it.

Though "American Pie" is famous for its numerous gross-outs, the movie is good, and not just gross, because we come to identify with the characters, and the humor rises naturally from the situations. The scene where Stifler slips laxatives into Finch's mochaccino, causing him to make a desperate dash for the nearest toilet, is funny not because fart sounds are humorous, but because the film already established Finch's aversion for public restrooms.

The Stifler character was especially believable. When Heather (Mena Suvari) asks out Oz (Chris Klein) in front of the lacrosse team, Stifler proceeds to make lewd gestures. Heather misinterprets this as Stifler making fun of her, when Stifler was really just trying to embarrass Oz. When I first saw the film at the age of 16, I thought, That's pretty much how high school boys act.

The acting is serviceable. Eugene Levy, who plays Jim's dad, and Seann William Scott, who plays Stifler, are totally convincing in their roles. (Toward the end of the film, watch Stifler in the background check his beer before he takes a sip.) Others, however, give flat performances, especially in dramatic scenes. However, since these scenes take back seat to the comedy, and few of the jokes fall flat from the acting, the mediocre performances don't hurt the overall effectiveness of the film.

Another criticism I have of the film is one that pretty much applies to all Hollywood films, and that is that the kids are too rich. You can usually tell who the poor kid is in a Hollywood movie because he's the one who's not driving a late-model car. His family will still live in a two-storey house. Every student in "American Pie" (except for Oz, the only one shown to have a job), lives like the richest kid at my high school.

Overall, "American Pie" is an enjoyable comedy that will continue to be the standard against which all teen comedies will be judged. I recommend the unrated version. While scenes in most unrated or extended editions were cut from the theatrical releases for good reasons (i.e., they were tedious), the theatrical version of "American Pie" was really a sanitized version of the better, unrated version.

I will say this for American Pie, it's not full out of completely gross out humor like Van Wilder (2002). It's got a couple of scenes based on crude humor, but I was glad to see that for the most part, the movie steered clear of over the top disgusting humor. The characters are good hearted boys that think they just want sex, and for a couple of the characters that turns out to be true, but for a couple other of them, it turns out that just "getting laid" isn't the most important thing. I liked that the characters actually ended up to have a deeper want and that they actually end up having better connections with girls that yes may involve sex, but that's not all that it's based upon. Now this movie isn't all love and good hearted stuff, it's got plenty and I do mean plenty of raunchy/dirty humor. Humor that involves male and female masturbation in different ways, premature ejaculation, and very descriptive talk of all kinds of sexual activities. Just FYI in case any of that offends you. There is some truly funny material in the film, I laughed at several scenes in the movie. I didn't think it was laugh out loud hilarious, but some parts were funny. The parts I wasn't laughing at, I was feeling for the characters. I loved the acting from all the cast members. Tara Reid was really good as Vicky. Jason Biggs was a perfect choice for Jim. Thomas Nicholas is great as Kevin. Chris Klein is very good as Oz. And the rest of the cast is good too, but Kevin, Vicky, Oz, and Jim are the biggest characters here. I loved how Oz and Kevin were so adorable and were actually good hearted guys. I really like American Pie because not only is it funny but it's also good hearted and filled with good characters. 8/10.

I have to say that the most fun I had at the movies this summer was when I saw American Pie, the funniest picture I've seen since last summer's There's Something About Mary. This movie has taken the classic teenage boy film (Porky's, Revenge of the Nerds) and spruced it up for the 90's. It is hilarious from start to finish. If you like physical comedy, gross out comedy, sexual comedy, American Pie has it all. A great ensemble cast of likeable young actors makes this a joy to watch.

I think this year's breakout star has to be Chris Klein. He was phenomenal in Election and he is even better here as a jock who tries to soften his image to score before prom. I have a feeling Klein is going to be Hollywood's next big thing and I hope he has a chance to flex his acting muscles in some different movies (I can definitely see this guy in an action film).

Also very good is Jason Biggs who plays the sympathetic Jim character, the guy who is least likely to lose his virginity. His antics are very funny to follow and he gets the lion share of the laughs. Finally a huge ovation for Eugene Levy, who gets major laughs as the Jim's dad.

American Pie has all the ingredients of a good movie. First, the plot deals with young people in search of their first sexual experience. What could be more basic to the human condition? Second, although obviously fiction, the film has a feeling of reality capturing the awkwardness and anxiety of young people at this point in their lives. Third, it is well written and not always predictable as each young man employs his own strategy, and of course, in the real world things do not always go as planned. Fourth, the cast consists of very talented young actors playing characters which may remind the audience of people they may have known. Fifth, the film has its poignant moments. The final ingredient is this movie is hilarious. The film has one liners, sight gags, and situations that very funny. The audience, which ranged from teenagers to middle age, laughed almost constantly and out loud. CAUTION: This film is rated "R" for sexual situations and the use of alcohol by young people. If you are easily offended or sexual humor makes you uncomfortable, stay away. However, if you are not in the aforementioned, you may enjoy it. Three stars!!!