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A Raunch Filled, Familiar Tasting Pie by Chuck Walton, Hollywood.com Friday July 9, 1999 The advance buzz on "American Pie" would have you believe that it's this summer's "There's Something About Mary," a lowbrow sleeper comedy that anybody who's anybody has to go see. Now that it's here, the reality is that a) it's even more lewd and sexually crude than its predecessor and b) the second season around, jokes about certain bodily fluids are only half as funny. Although its makers liken this teen "coming-of-age" movie to "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," the more obvious influences are from the "Porky's" and "Last American Virgin" section of the video store. In a nutshell, the plotline has four typical teenaged dudes making a pact to have sex for the first time before they graduate from high school. They are the obvious types: the likable jock ("Election's" Chris Klein) who joins the choir to serenade the sweet soprano; the earnest boyfriend (Thomas Ian Nichols) who can't get anywhere with his longtime gal; a pseudo-intellectual (Eddie Kaye Thomas) who utilizes the rumors-of-sexual-potency approach; and the near-dork hero (Jason Biggs) who ill-advisedly practices his technique with a homemade pastry.

Most of the laughs come from the recognizable albeit embarrassing sexual encounters of novice plaything Biggs. One involves that all-American pie (which nearly warranted the film an NC-17 for its few extra thrusts). Others include an internet broadcast featuring a shapely Czech exchange student (Shannon Elizabeth), and a memorable prom night spent with a musician (scene-stealing Alyson Hannigan) who knows a thing or two from band camp. Unfortunately, in between the appetizing laughs, there's not much filling in this raunchy affair. Try as they might, the cast can't quite overcome the conventional, artificial set-ups in writer Adam Herz's script. Banter between the guys in a diner isn't as convincing as those in earlier films such as, say, "Diner." Ditto the dialogue scripted for the boyfriend and girlfriend who'll be separated by different colleges next year, and the jock-choir girl romance which may flourish, since the characters just happen to be attending closer state schools. Save for the outrageous sex on its sleeve (and elsewhere, including a nasty spiked glass of beer), the film doesn't develop anything to distinguish it from the latest teen-lite movies like "She's All That" and "Cruel Intentions." With their tacked-on combination of hip cynicism, youthful naivete, and recycled personalities, the characters come across as anything but real, actual teens. They still belong to a Kevin Williamson-spawned universe of ironic teen caricatures. Only this time, they're particularly horny. Since filmmaking duo the Weitz brothers at least convey that timeless notion right, as well as the idea that maybe nice kids really are a bit clueless about the first time, the movie could be the commercial amusement of the moment for laugh-hungry audiences. If nothing else, the film features one progressive kink: this time, without exception, it's the girls (Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, a Miss Robinsonesq Jennifer Coolidge)

While the rest of "American Pie's" thrills are mostly derivative and occasionally funny, it's this notion that ends up being its greatest attraction.