Unrated
(Strong Sexuality, Crude Sexual Dialogue, Language and Drinking, All Involving Teens)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 36 Minutes
Cast-
Jason
Biggs-James ‘Jim’ Levenstein
Chris
Klein-Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher
Thomas
Ian Nicholas-Kevin Myers
Eddie
Kaye Thomas-Paul Finch
Seann
William Scott-Steve Stifler
Alyson
Hannigan-Michelle Flaherty
Tara
Reid-Victoria 'Vicky' Lathum
Mena
Suvari-Heather
Shannon
Elizabeth-Nadia
Natasha
Lyonne-Jessica
Chris
Owen-Chuck Sherman
Eugene
Levy-Jim's Father/Mr. Levenstein
Casey
Affleck-Tom Myers
Jennifer
Coolidge-Stifler's Mother
Directed
by Paul Weitz
 |
| Feels just like the real thing! |
R-rated
comedies have come a long way over the past ten years and are now more popular
than ever with their relatively low production cost and potential for huge box
office returns. Directed by Todd Phillips, 2009’s “The Hangover” ended up
grossing a massive $467 million worldwide against a cheap $35 million
production budget and its 2011 sequel made even more with $581 million despite being panned by critics (audiences
didn’t seem to care). Not surprisingly, Phillips is planning to helm a third
film. The comedy subgenre has also enjoyed critical acclaim with last year’s
“Bridesmaids” receiving two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress
and Original Screenplay. Although winning was never in the cards (the Academy
is just too biased), this acknowledgement is still noteworthy. R-rated comedies
are nothing new but the subgenre fell out of favor until 1999’s “American Pie”
led to a revival. That year also saw a number of high-profile releases that
included George Lucas’ long-awaited prequel “Star Wars Episode I—The Phantom
Menace”, the Wachowski Brothers’ groundbreaking science fiction film “The
Matrix”, and M. Night Shyamalan’s breakout supernatural thriller “The Sixth
Sense.” Acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick also passed away that year with his
final film “Eyes Wide Shut” released posthumously. Riding a wave of hype during
the summer of 1999 thanks to an extensive screening campaign on college
campuses (which is being repeated for the fourth film), “American Pie” ended up
grossing an impressive $235 million worldwide (against a measly $11 million
production budget), leading to the creation of a widely successful comedy
franchise that has now spawned three sequels along with four direct-to-video spin-off films. However, the intervening years
hasn’t been exactly kind to “American Pie” and what was once considered to be
pushing the envelope thirteen years
ago seems tame in comparison to the R-rated comedies of today. Despite the fond
reputation it has garnered among fans, “American Pie” simply isn’t a very good
film as it desperately tries to garner laughs from the audience with a series
of increasingly ridiculous sex jokes that often fall flat while the story goes
nowhere until the final twenty minutes where it engages in awkward moralizing. Fortunately,
the characters remain a likable and even relatable bunch, making them the sole
saving grace in this uneven comedy.
With only three weeks left until their
graduation, four best friends from suburban Michigan decide to make a pact to
lose their virginity before they leave high school after a dorky classmate
named Chuck Sherman (Chris Owen) claims to have lost his during a party hosted
by the popular but obnoxious and vulgar Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott).
James ‘Jim’ Levenstein (Jason Biggs) is enamored with an attractive exchange
student from Czechoslovakia named Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) and pursues her at
the encouragement of his friends despite being socially awkward around women.
However, he is forced to ask band camp geek Michelle Flaherty (Alyson Hannigan)
to the prom after an embarrassing webcam incident online. Lacrosse player Chris
‘Oz’ Ostreicher (Chris Klein) decides to join the jazz choir club in an attempt
to lose his reputation as an insensitive jock and find a girlfriend. He manages
to win the affection of Heather (Mena Suvari) but their relationship is
strained when she discovers Oz’s unsavory intentions. Meanwhile, Paul Finch (Eddie
Kaye Thomas) pays a fellow classmate named Jessica (Natasha Lyonne) $200 to
spread rumors of his sexual prowess around the school while Kevin Myers (Thomas
Ian Nicholas) tries to take his relationship with Victoria ‘Vicky’ Lathum (Tara
Reid) to the next level after being stuck in ‘third base’ for so long.
Unfortunately, losing their virginity isn’t as easy as it sounds as each of
them finds themselves in one ridiculous situation after another.
The story in
“American Pie” is as basic as they come and is little more than a skeletal
framework for many of the outrageous events that occur throughout the film.
Much of the material is rather tame despite its reputation as one of the
raunchiest comedies ever made and although writer Adam Herz desparately tries
to garner laughs from the audience, there simply aren’t many to be found. Just
because the dialogue is loaded with f-bombs and various other vulgarities
doesn’t mean it is automatically funny. There are some genuinely memorable moments including the infamous ‘apple
pie’ and crazy webcam scenes (which reveal how far we’ve come in terms of
technology) but that leaves much of the film spinning its wheels until the last
twenty minutes when it realizes that there is still an actual story to tell.
The four main characters go through a turning point and learn that there is
more to life than losing their virginity but this last-minute moralizing feels
rushed and insincere because this epiphany seemingly happens out of nowhere.
“American Pie” does manage to capture
the trials and tribulations faced by teenagers as they begin to transition into
adulthood. The high school romances feel genuine as does the amiable
relationship shared by Jim and his father. Unfortunately, too much time is
spent on Jim’s friends and the film would’ve been better off focusing on one
perspective instead of four at the same time. I find it puzzling that “American
Pie” has enjoyed such a fond reception given its middling comedy and conventional
plot but I believe much of its reputation stems from the fact that it tries to depict its characters as real
people rather than as objects of humiliation (although that happens as well).
Honestly, I feel Herz would’ve been better off writing a ‘dramedy’ instead of
what we have here.
The cast was made up of largely unknowns at the time with
the exception of Alyson Hannigan (who was currently starring in Joss Whedon’s
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on television) and veteran actor Eugene Levy.
“American Pie” was Jason Biggs first lead role and he succeeds in capturing
Jim’s good-natured awkwardness and easy excitability around sexually attractive
women. The pseudo-sophisticate personality of Paul Finch fits Eddie Kaye Thomas
like a glove but Thomas Ian Nicholas and Chris Klein do not fair so well.
Nicholas often comes across as whiny and Klein is an absolute disaster with his
slow line delivery. Seann William Scott founded his entire career on Steve Stifler, who comes off as a total a**hole with
his annoying smirk but what do I know? Audiences seemed to have responded well
to him because his role increased in the sequels. The female cast members
appear to have been chosen based solely on their looks. Shannon Elizabeth is
only famous for her extensive nude scene while Alyson Hannigan has far too
little screen-time. Eugene Levy, however, excels with his deadpan delivery and
deserves to be in the film more. The acting never rises above competent and is
sometimes god-awful, leaving little mystery as to why the cast (with the
exception of Hannigan once again) faded into relative obscurity.
“American Pie”
was released on Blu-Ray back in March to hype up the upcoming release of
“American Reunion.” Strangely, it will be re-released later this summer to
celebrate Universal’s 100th anniversary. I doubt anything will change so avoid
double-dipping. While the picture is definitely superior to the DVD, it appears
that digital noise reduction was used as often times faces look unnaturally
smooth. Colors look lackluster and blacks tend to lean toward the fuzzy side of
the spectrum. Audio is adequate with sharp dialogue but fails to deliver any
kind of oomph considering all the licensed music used. Special features are
surprisingly impressive with a 3 hour and 33 minute making-of documentary on
the entire trilogy. Director Paul Weitz, producer Chris Weitz, writer Adam Herz
and cast members Jason Biggs, Sean William Scott and Eddie Kaye Thomas are
on-hand for the audio commentary along with some promotional material on the
fourth film. However, all of the extras are presented in standard definition.
Released on July 9, 1999, “American Pie” received mildly positive reviews with
60% on Rotten Tomatoes but whether critics liked it or not didn’t matter as the
film ended up being a box office success with $235 million worldwide ($322
million if adjusted for inflation). Two sequels followed in 2001 and 2003 but
both received mixed reviews and the series limped on with four direct-to-video
spin-offs that tarnished the brand further. “American Pie” may have been a big
deal thirteen years ago but I feel audiences were simply caught up in the
novelty of seeing a teen sex comedy after the sub-genre fell out of favor.
Although the coming-of-age aspects of Herz's screenplay ring true, the film is
just so desperate for laughs that the main story is little more than an
afterthought with its rushed plotting and clichéd resolution. Outside of a few
genuinely funny moments, much of the comedy is too juvenile and falls flat on
its face. If you never bothered with the film, it’s unlikely you’ll like it now
but fans will continue to love it just for nostalgia’s sake.
Final
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
“I
would like to make an announcement. There is a gorgeous woman masturbating on
my bed!”
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