Good, Family Fun! (sarcasm)

Rating: 8/10 (9 October 1999)

American Pie concerns itself with four likable virgin teenagers three weeks before their graduation. Each fears leaving high school a virgin and so they make a pact to help each other score before their graduation.
There are some scenes in this movie that out-gross There's Something About Mary and that's some feat but the overall tone is sweet. It's possibly the best-natured teenage movie for a while. The four leads are convincing. Jason Biggs as Jim gets possibly the most embarrasing role in recent years (he's the guy with the pie on the poster) but he gets most of the laughs. Kevin is the most experienced of the three. He has a full time girlfriend and their relationship becomes the cornerstone of the film's drama. Both are unsure of their relationship and how sex should fit in it. Finch is the shyest and strangest characters. He borders on a nerd but he formulates a plan to make him the most talked about boy in the girls locker room. The only unconvincing element of the four guy's adventures was with "Oz". His efforts border on sentimentality and his playing of a character who wants to find his sensitive side doesn't work.
The supporting cast are used effectively. The girls are not just objects of affection. They are fully developed characters in their own right. Possibly the funniest lines come from Stifler. An experienced jock who enjoys teasing the four.
American Pie is hardly family fun. For me it's success shows that there are a lot of under-age teenagers sneaking into theatres. It may be a gross-out comedy but hey it's heart is in the right place.