'American Pie' - Review

Bold statement approaching—this is, in my eyes, the best teenage movie of all time. No film has captured the essence of what it is like to be a horny teenager in your final year of high school quite like this one. A time where talking to women, let alone getting laid, seemed more difficult than quantum mechanics and more terrifying than swimming with bloodthirsty sharks. Embarrassing to say, but this film is extremely relatable. Okay, I doubt many teenage boys were seen by their entire school on webcam... you know what, I won't spoil anymore because if you haven't seen this film, I urge you to watch it immediately.

I will say that this movie is famous because the jokes are crude, sexual and hilarious. No joke is too gross or sexually explicit for the American Pie series, something that has been lacking in a teen movie since The Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I will warn you though that if you are not a fan of "second-hand embarrassment" comedy, then this may not be a film for you, but the characters are so likable and funny that in my mind, it makes up for watching scenes that would absolutely traumatize people if they were to happen in real life.

The story is extremely simple. Four dudes make a pact at a party that they will lose their virginity by their prom night. Each one of these characters then goes on their own sexual discovery. Jim, who you could argue is the "main" character or the A-story, is your typical awkward guy who simply can't speak to girls—to the point of simply going up to girls at a party, laughing, and then walking away after five seconds of awkward silence. Kevin, who is dating a gorgeous girl named Vicky, struggles with the typical, "she's not ready for sex but I'm not ready to say 'I love you'" dilemma. Actually, is it really common for people to have that dilemma? Now that I think about it, I've never been in or known anyone who has been in a situation like that before. I'm getting ahead of myself. Oz, who thinks the trick to getting girls is to act all macho and spew corny lines at look-out-point but soon realizes that relationships are a two-way street. And there is Finch who gets people to start rumors about how great he is in bed. While totally ridiculous, this B-story gets some great laughs. Along for the ride is Steven Stiffler, the most notorious misogynistic, homophobic, party animal to ever grace the silver screen in years. He is one of those guys you love to hate and you hate to love. And while he does something unspeakably cruel to one of our main four, he gets what he deserves in the end.

This film works because of the characters. There have been plenty of teen comedies that have tried to coattail off the success of American Pie like Project X for example. However, that film didn't have me laughing nearly as much because although they have very similar jokes in terms of the vulgar language and sexual nature of the humor, the characters in that film are annoying and downright hateable. I hate those characters. But put these characters in that story and I can almost guarantee that I would have liked it more. If I went to high school in 1999, I would want to hang with my buds, Kevin, Finch, Oz and Jim.

On top of the gross-out humor and the sex-driven storyline, this is a film that speaks to the teenage demographic even today. This is a great film about growing up that should be experienced by everyone, particularly by people currently in that age group and people who still have fond memories of that awkward time in their life. This is a perfect, "VHS Movie at the Lake" type of film. It's got the great 90s soundtrack, the great jokes that feel a bit dated but still extremely hilarious, and it really puts you in a great mood. This was the film that inspired me to write my own teenage comedy film for school, Roses for Jennifer. A movie that makes me laugh and smile from beginning to end. One of my all-time favorites.