Pretty good

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2001)

I scored this film 7 / 10 & am quite chuffed to see it's overall rating is 7.0. Thus, I must be fairly representative of the audience on this one.
I'll start however, with the one and only real criticism I had of this film. It was about as funny as a road accident. It was entertaining, easily to follow, had likeable characters, a surprisingly good storyline, but to describe it as a comedy must contravene every trade description law in the book.
To hear people rave about how hilarious this film was, you'd think it was Airplane or Naked Gun. It's not in that league, at least insofar as a comedy film. It could be another classic example of the American / Australian idea of comedy being completely different to Europe's & vice versa, as I watched this, though thoroughly enjoying it, completely straight faced throughout. Much in the same way, many Brits do with 'Cheers'. Extremely good lighthearted entertainment, but not particularly amusing.
I must also have watched an edited version as I cannot believe the emphasis people place on the character Stifler. Apart from the incident in the toilet, I recall very little else of him. He wasn't part of the pact after all.
Other than that though, it was good. I tend to avoid films with the first word 'American' like I avoid warts, as I do with so called sex comedies, given the amount of crap that come out of England in the 70's, in this genre, so this film was a recipe for diaster with me, but I really did enjoy it.
I anticipated a shagfest of pre pubescent teens making crude jokes, (especially given the pathetic knob in apple pie scene played to death in the trailers), and a glamourising of teenage sex, to make it seem like the be all & end all of every teenagers life, when most will tell you it isn't & that they do have other interests. But it wasn't really that at all, infact, for large parts the tone was to the contrary, I'm sure it conveyed some positive messages.
So for mild light hearted entertainment, I'd certainly recommend this. It's good fun, but not in the 'ha ha' sense.
But one thing, please, all in the US & Hollywood. Can this be the last film or song that you export, even just for a year, where the whole story revolves around 'Prom Night'? We've had enough of them for a while. Nobody else has Prom Nights. Us in England have never been to one, and don't really have any idea what they are. We don't export films about fat northern compere's in stringed vests & strippers on stage in Working Mens Clubs.