Cast: Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy, Alyson Hannigan, Sean William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thoma, Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari
Certificate: 15
Extras: Sneak Peak at American Reunion, deleted scenes, commentaries, music videos, outtakes, Making Of feature,
In 1999, the world was an explicit place. Jerry Springer, WWF, and JACKASS ruled the airwaves, proving that people wanted sex, violence, and good old-fashioned effing and jeffing. It’s little wonder that AMERICAN PIE was such a hit: it was coarse, obscene, and featured as much pastry-based intercourse as you could shake a sausage roll at. Most importantly, of course, it was very funny. But much like PORKY’S before it, AMERICAN PIE kicked off a cycle of increasingly dull and unpleasant teen comedies, and as such, is not remembered as fondly as it should be.
13 years later, it’s somewhat surprising how well the original film holds up. Filled with likable characters, genuine heart, and memorable set pieces (Jim’s… er, premature webcast still raises a laugh), it’s easy to see how the film that gave us the term MILF became so influential. More than just a throwaway comedy, AMERICAN PIE taps into something with which almost everyone can relate; put aside the shit breaks, cum drinking, and dirty flutes, and what’s left is a basic rites-of-passage story, one that still touches a nerve.
This is less true, however, for its inevitable sequel. Released in 2001, AMERICAN PIE 2 plays out as a tiresome retread of the original, with everything turned up to eleven. Aside from a scene involving some superglue-aided masturbation, the gags fall very short of the mark, and seem most concerned with being brasher, louder, and more obscene. Most importantly though, it lacks the emotional substance of the first; as the characters learn another lesson abut growing up (nowhere near as interesting as the first’s), it soon becomes clear that AMERICAN PIE 2 is little more than a directionless amble from one boner joke to the next.
By the time the third installment, AMERICAN PIE: THE WEDDING, arrived in 2003, the teen comedy had already run its course. Whilst it remains an improvement on its predecessor (the wedding providing at least a clear narrative), the film is rarely anything more than dull, and is notable only for the redemption of uber-dick Stifler (Sean William Scott), a young January Jones, and the consistently amusing relationship between Jim (Jason Biggs) and his father (Eugene Levy). With the fifth installment (don’t mention part four, BAND CAMP) AMERICAN REUNION on its way, one can only hope those responsible are taking note of what made the original so great and the others so painfully average.
AMERICAN PIE trilogy is available on Blu-ray and DVD 19th March
