Stale pie

"American Pie"
Overall Rating: **


To be fair, my opinion of "American Pie" was somewhat swayed by previews that I thought looked dumb. Perhaps I'm also prejudiced by my own high-school dating career, which was limited. In all fairness, I laughed much less than most of the rest of the audience. None of these facts, however, alter the fact that I thought "American Pie" was stupid.

"American Pie" is about four of the students at East Great Falls High: Jim, Oz, Kevin, and Finch (played by Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas respectively). Like pilot fish with a shark, they hang around the high-school jock Stiffler (Seann William Scott) because he throws parties where people get drunk and have sex. When Sherman (Chris Owen), the ultimate geek, spends the night with a woman at one of these parties, our four "heroes" make a pact--they will lose their virginity before graduation. The problem: senior prom is three weeks away, and Kevin is in his girlfriend's bad graces--which puts him ahead of Oz, Jim, and Finch, who don't have any girlfriends at all.

"American Pie" has a few laughs. Not nearly as many as "South Park" or "Tarzan;" for that matter, not as many as "The Siege" or "Independence Day." Some of the jokes: the awkward moments where Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) tries to have that "facts of life" talk with Jim. One of his friends tells Jim that "third base" feels like "warm apple pie;" so, when Jim's mother bakes a pie, Jim uses it as a sex toy. Then, there's a scene where Finch tries to be suave and jump in bed--but winds up jumping over the bed. These jokes--all used in the previews--are representative of most of the humor. Many of the antics are the type that are funny only when you know the people involved.

Putting aside any double entendres, there isn't really a point to the movie. The loftiest observation the film makes is that boys in high school have raging hormones, and will do stupid stuff trying to have sex. Considering some of the things these kids do, it's pretty hard to sympathize with them. For instance, Jim has a study date with an attractive exchange student, and she needs to change clothes at his house; so Jim sets up a webcam in the room where she's going to change so he and his friends can watch; the word puerile comes to mind. The film is also predictable--you can see the ending around the time the kids made their little pact--if not sooner. All told, if you don't like the jokes, there's nothing else there.

The bright side? Some of the jokes do actually work. There's also a clever nod to "The Graduate." The biggest strength is the supporting cast--which is almost invariably good. The best is easily Seann William Scott; he has Stiffler's look and attitude down perfectly, and is convincing in later scenes when his character gets a bruised ego and subsequently is humiliated completely--Stiffler winds up as a stronger character than the bland, "everyman" protagonists that sadly dominate the movie. Scott's performance, however, isn't the only good delivery, Chris Owen is also good as the dislikable nerd Sherman. Eddie Kaye Thomas is good as Paul Finch, making his character almost sympathetic--and the only one of the protagonists who stands out in any way.

If there is a film where sexual content alone makes it inappropriate for children, "American Pie" is it. There is pervasive strong sexual content including some nudity; the biggest concern is movie's overall message of "you're only cool if you lose your virginity while you're still in high school." Beyond that, there is a fair amount of strong language, and several scenes involving teenage drinking, but no violence.

After the recent success of the highly vulgar "There's Something About Mary," there's a big drive in Hollywood to appeal to the crowd that found that movie a bit too classy. Some of the films to come out of this effort work--"South Park" is highly entertaining and makes good points, all while redefining crude. Unfortunately, "American Pie" falls far short; it lacks the satire and wit of "There's Something About Mary" and "South Park," and for all it's effort, it isn't even as coarse.

Title: "American Pie"
Release date: July 9, 1999
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: **
Aprox. run time: 95 min.
Director: Paul Weitz
Writer: Adam Herz
Stars: Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas

Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/Am_Pie.htm
Added to blog site: 7/26/09 (some minor editing)