American Pie
An informal poll I conducted among high schoolers indicated that this one's a big hit. And why not? It's crude, rude and nude, and never misses a chance to go for the cheap laugh. As I noted in last week's review of Eyes Wide Shut, you get to see a sexually inexperienced kid sodomize an apple pie (he heard it's the closest thing to the way oral sex feels), another kid drinks a beer laced with semen, another has explosive diarreah, etc etc etc. This summer has seen every callow trick in the book - nothing is too nasty to celebrate. Whence comes this desperation to shock us?
I was slightly offended by American Pie. Not so much by the content of the scenes above, as I have remarkably callous sensibilities, but by the lack of thought behind them. Strange that a movie so explicitly directed toward high-schoolers would work so hard to get an "R" rating, theoretically barring the majority of them from seeing it. Bizarre when you consider that few over the age of 18 will get much out of it.
The plot revolves around four seniors who are desperate to lose their virginity before the year is over, which I suppose is refreshing in a way, as most Hollywood high schoolers are as sexually adept as a 40 year old longshoreman. The prom is the deadline, and they work in earnest. One starts a rumor that he has a huge penis to get the ladies' attention, one tries sensitivity as a last resort, the guy with the hesitant girlfriend hunts for the ever-elusive key to the female orgasm, and one blunders around confused.
Each approach (particularly the last) rings true for anyone who remembers high school with any degree of honesty, which is why the film is connecting with its audience. For all its silly humor, one-dimensional characterization, predictability and essential blandness, American Pie knows it's no fun to be the last one to board the sex train, the guy standing at the station with his virginity in his hand.
Its also interesting, as I get older, to see how consistently these kinds of movies portray adults as hormone-less bumbling morons with no idea of what their kids are up to. Amusingly, American Pie strays a bit from the formula as a well-meaning father attempts to educate his son with Hustler, Shaved and Playboy, and gives him an uncomfortably knowing wink when a gorgeous foreign exchange student comes over to "study".
Is this a "classic" teen raunch-fest like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky's or Revenge of the Nerds? Who knows? I probably only think of them that way because they were my first brush with cinematic casual nudity, goofball boozing kids and implausibly horny chicks. It's certainly got all the ingredients (even adding semen in a literal sense), so it might well be. Despite its sloping forehead and crusty drawers, American Pie is at least cheerfully dumb, consistently amoral and has affection for its characters. Whether you will too depends on whether you've matriculated.
- Jared O'Connor
MOVIES
All Content © 1997, 1998, 1999 Jared O'Connor and Michael Baker