AMERICAN PIE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
Ho hum. A movie about high school senior buddies who vow to lose their
virginity before the school year is over.
The big surprise? With this theme, AMERICAN PIE, which spends half of
the movie trying to be a teenage version of THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT
MARY, devotes the other half to a sweet story about the awkwardness of
sex and the tenderness of one's first intimate relationship. While
never fully satisfactory at either, it is a comedy with some nice
laughs, and a romance with some sweet moments.
Four guys take the sex-by-prom-time pledge. Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas),
who has already been to third base, is the most advanced sexually, but
he has a phobia about saying the word "love." Jim (Jason Biggs) is the
"batboy" since he hasn't even been to first base. Chris "Oz" Ostreicher
(Chris Klein) is a jock with a heart of gold, who is willing to take up
choir to impress the girls. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), a Latin geek
whose meticulous sensibilities keep him from using the restroom at the
high school, plants rumors of his alleged enormous organ as a come-on to
the opposite sex.
In contrast, their other buddies, including Stifler (Seann William
Scott) and Sherman (Chris Owen), appear to be getting all the sex they
want.
Although the movie is presented from the boys' point of view, the girls
(Mena Suvari, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, Alyson Hannigan and Shannon
Elizabeth) get much better written parts than might be expected. There
is even a Mrs. Robinson clone, played by Jennifer Coolidge. Lest we
miss the allusion to THE GRADUATE, they play the Mrs. Robinson song
during the seduction scene.
The film moves with relative ease between scenes involving oral sex,
masturbation, diarrhea and regurgitation and those of romantic
affirmations of love. It is a tribute to writer Adam Herz and director
Paul Weitz that they manage to put both extreme sexual humor and
delicate romance in the same movie without the one completely canceling
the other. Even so, the blend causes neither to fulfil its promise.
The audience is forced to vacillate between emotions, never comfortably
settling in either mode.
So why did they title it AMERICAN PIE?
Don't ask. The pie, like MARY's hair "gel," is the story's comedic
centerpiece. Suffice it to say that Jim, a shy teen with raging
hormones, finds something to do with a warm pie that doesn't have a
Better Homes and Gardens' seal of approval.
AMERICAN PIE runs 1:35. It is rated R for strong sexuality, crude
sexual dialogue, language and drinking, all involving teens. The movie
would be acceptable for older teens.
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Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: American Pie is a teen movie that isn't afraid to push the boundaries of normal teen movies. Since adolescence revolves around sex, so does this movie. It's about 4 guys who make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate highschool. It sounds like a number of other teen movies with the same story. What sets this apart from the others is the crude humor. It's a lot like what "There's Something About Mary" did last year to make it a great box office draw. There are plenty of funny moments here that will make you burst out laughing. The opening scene tells you exactly what type of movie this is going to be when the parents walk in on their son watching a scrambled adult movie on cable. Other things like the father son talk, the surprising band geeky girl, the internet fiasco and of course the pie incident make this great fun to watch. Incidently, the pie scene is different in the unrated and rated versions of the film. The cast in this movie is relatively unknown, except for Eugene Levy who plays the father of the lead boy. I suppose it works to the advantage of this type of film to have a starless cast, because since there are no standout actors, everyone fits together and gels just right. I do think this film will launch the careers of some of these actors though. It would also be nice somewhere down the road to see what happens to them in college. If you want to rent a good funny film with not much on plot, but but big on laughs, then you should definately check this out.
I give American Pie 3.5 out of 5 stars
Review written December 23, 1999
