AMERICAN PIE
Review by John Beachem
* * *
Directed by: Paul Weitz Written by: Adam Herz
Think back to the year 1981, when one of the raunchiest comedies of all time hit theaters. That comedy was, of course, Bob Clark's now infamous "Porky's". I'd actually recommend that anyone who loved "American Pie" go back and catch "Porky's" to see how a comedy like this can be made even more amusing. I suppose the biggest difference between these two sex comedies is that "American Pie" is basically a safe film. It may not seem this way at first glance, but relative newcomer Paul Weitz does not make his film as raunchy as it could have been. He even tries to stick some moral messages in near the end of the movie. Bob Clark, on the other hand, took no prisoners with his film. "Porky's" is as obscene as possible with an R rating. By playing it safe, Paul Weitz and Adam Herz have managed to sap a lot of potential humor out of their film.
Four high school friends have just made a pact to lose their virginity before graduation. Jim (Jason Biggs) is willing to try just about anything, with any girl, to fulfill his obligation. His latest plan is to bed the exchange student, Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth). If that plan fails, his backup is the school's nerdy band member, Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Kevin (Thomas Ian Nichols) is trying to get his long time girlfriend, Vicky (Tara Reid), to finally sleep with him. However, this will involve him saying the three most dreaded words he can think of. Oz (Chris Klein), a rugby player, has decided to take the sensitive approach by joining the school choir to gain the affections of Heather (Mena Suvari). Last we have Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), who is so stuck up that he won't even go to the bathroom in the school's facilities. His plan is to start rumors about how great he is in bed so that every girl in the school will be crawling all over him. The friends' put their plans into motion, but time is running out, and it looks like everything is going to come down to prom night.
Despite what you may have heard, "American Pie" is not a very offensive movie. I'm not saying it doesn't have its cringe worthy moments (like a scene where something which shouldn't be drunk is placed in a cup of beer), but the movie is far too good natured to seriously offend anyone. This is too bad because "American Pie" had the potential to be one of the funniest movies of the past few years. For example, a scene in which Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan get together starts off uproariously funny, but it is cut short before reaching its full comic capacity. This happens in an unfortunate number of scenes. The big laughs are promised, and are nearly brought to the screen, before Weitz chickens out and alters the course of the film towards safer ground.
"American Pie" is the sort of movie used to showcase young talent. Half the cast members will never move on to greater things, while the other half will be in important, dramatic films a few years from now. Mena Suvari has obviously already begun her transition by appearing in the excellent "American Beauty". Even with a script as shallow as this one, Suvari already displays some amazing emotional range considering her age and experience. Alyson Hannigan, who is already famous for playing the cutsey Willow on television's "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer", gives a hilarious performance in what is really a very small part. While the remaining cast members give adequate performances, the only other standouts are newcomer Jason Biggs and Eugene Levy ("Multiplicity"), as Jim's dad. Levy's character is one of the few who grants us some real belly laughs by awkwardly trying to help his son understand the birds and the bees - so to speak.
Actually, the lack of any big laughs is one of my biggest problems with "American Pie". There are some movies which contain very few big laughs, but cause you to chuckle the whole way through, like 1998's sadly underrated "Rushmore". "American Pie" may have a few chuckles but not enough to sustain the movie through its 95 minute running time. I'm sure "American Pie" will be a huge hit with teenagers who are too young to remember "Porky's" and too old to settle for typical teen fare. I know, it has an R rating, but I'm not naive enough to believe that every highschool student in America isn't going to see this movie. I'd recommend "American Pie" to those desperate for a new, raunchy comedy since Hollywood hasn't put one out in quite some time. I give the movie three out of five stars.
Any past movies you want me to review? Send to: johnbeachem@dependentfilms.net For past reviews, movie news, and other fun stuff, visit: http://www.dependentfilms.net
* * * * * - One of the best movies of the year. * * * * - Great flick, try and catch this one. * * * - Okay movie, hits and misses. * * - Pretty bad, see it at your own risk. * - See this one only if you enjoy pain.
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