20 years American Pie

American Pie at 20: why the raucous comedy could never be made today

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/09/american-pie-20th-anniversary-jason-biggs

American Pie could never be made today.

Just the premise of high school boys vowing, by hook or by crook, to lose their virginity before prom feels like a game of Russian roulette with four bullets in the chamber. Per their own guidelines, it has to be “valid, consensual sex”, nothing with prostitutes, but the timeline doesn’t exactly incentivize good behavior, especially when they decide that working together is the best way to make it happen. And that’s before you get to some of the film’s more dubious particulars, like filming a foreign exchange student naked without her knowledge and broadcasting it via webcam to the entire class. (The resolution is quite poor, for what it’s worth. There’s only so much smut that can survive a dial-up modem.)

Yet 20 years later, American Pie is being made all the time. It’s being made in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, in Superbad, in Neighbors, in Booksmart, in the constant flow of cringe-inducing comedies about love and friendship among the sexually inexperienced. The films have evolved with the culture – and frankly, a healthy shift in the rules of engagement – but they’re part of a long continuum of teen (or man-child) sex romps that deal in humiliating rites of passage. For male viewers especially, it’s a perverse form of escapism: they can recognize how awkward and embarrassing those first sexual encounters tend to be, but hey, at least they didn’t liken a woman’s breasts to “bags of sand” or get caught dipping their wick into a warm apple pie.

True. There's nothing like that first piece. ;-)

Damn I feel old remember seen it when it came out here in Ireland when I was 17 during it's first weekend out lol. I actually went back to watch the main cast 4 films a few months ago, not none of the rubbish side ones.

I think the first one stands out for having more heart to it then the other's, also helps Stifler work's better as a side character then the lead as he became later on. Also Shannon Elizabeth as Nadia has to go down as one of the hottest women in Teen films ever, she was never as knockout beautiful as she was in the first. Also Tara Reid was a lot worse then I remember her. But the cast were excellent, you can see why Mena Suvari went on to do well for a few years, she's at her cutest in this and most likable. Jason Briggs was great, as was Chris Klein. For all the gross out humor, it's a sweet film about friends at the end of the day. I agree with people saying it wouldn't get made day, well it would get made if the four leads were a female cast instead of the guys, it's the truth lets be honest.

I actually prefer the 2nd film as a straight out comedy, sad some of the original cast clearly didn't want to be there, looking at you Tara Reid, Mena Suvari and Natasha Lyonne. But it's awesome that Alysson Hannigan's Michelle got a bigger part and she's the heart of this film. American Wedding loses something not having some of the original cast there but is the weakest of the four films. Worth a watch though. American Reunion, I loved and think it's underrated and in Ali Corbin they had someone to match Shannon Elizabeth for the hottest babe in American Pie series. But it bought back the heart of the first film and all the cast.

I go in my rankings

1. American Pie 8/10
2. American Pie 2 7/10 (I prefer it as a comedy moreso then the first)
3. American Reunion 7/10
4. American Wedding 5/10