What is a sex comedy? Let's face it, if a sex comedy was just a movie with
a series of dirty jokes, then Mel Brooks' History of the World Part 1 would be
a classic. What makes a sex comedy unique to the average stupid and raunchy
comedy is the plot. Obviously, for any stupid movie the plot can be anything
from saving the world from Saddam Hussein (ala Hot Shots) to crime fighting (take
your pick). The plot to a sex comedy is simple and easy: A guy or group of
guys go about trying to get laid.
And so do we come to American Pie.
For years people have looked back on the Canadian movie Porky's as a staple
and almost trademark in the sex comedy business. From what I've seen of the
movie is about a group of guys who try to get into a strip club. Obviously,
sexual intercourse is also on their minds. Now, in the last year of the 1990s,
comes along a movie to rival Porky's position in the sex comedy genre.
The plot to American Pie is quite simple: A group of guys make a pact that they
will lose their virginity by the night of their Senior Prom. The movie chronicles
their attempts to woo the opposite sex and their constant screw-ups and failures.
It shows, at times, how little guys know about sex and how they know even less about
girls.
I can't really say much more about this movie without giving away the best jokes, two
of which most know already through common knowledge (the tube-sock incident, and the
apple-pie incident after which the movie is titled). It's hilarious, though. There will
be points where you won't be able to stop yourself from laughing. And as far as pick-up
lines go, there are two in this movie which must be added to anybody's top 10 Bad Lines
list.
Yet, even for a sex comedy, this movie has an actual heart to it. It's not only about
a group of four guys looking for sex. There's more to it than that. There's a message
that sex itself is overrated. There's a certain sweetness among the incessant dirtiness
that makes it all bearable. Hell, there's even character-development!
It's these little points that make this movie rise above all other dirty comedies out
there. Both guys and gals are portrayed as sexual creatures; both gals and guys are
portrayed as being capable of sensitivity. It's interesting to see a guy who wants a
steady relationship or a girl who's looking solely for a one-night stand. Role-reversals
can be fun, and this movie demonstrates that at times.
And let's not forget Eugene Levy. Best known for his multitude of characters on the
classic sketch comedy series SCTV, Levy shines in his role as the father to one of the
four boys. He has, perhaps, ten to twenty minutes of screen time, but he makes the most
of it. The lesson in sex-ed he tries to teach his son is one of the funniest moments of
the movie.
What is American Pie? It's a sex-comedy with a heart and (*gasp, shock*) actual morals.
It's funny as hell, too. If you're the person in your group of friends who tells dirty
jokes all the time, go see this movie. If you're one of the people in your group of friends
who laughs at that dirty bastard, even if you're embarassed to, go see this movie. It's
well worth it.
"Suck me, beautiful!"