Been there, done that

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2000)

I am not about to tell you about how obscene or offensive this movie is - and no doubt it is both of those - because I know that you've heard enough about that. I am also not going to lecture the film industry either on gradually shifting the limits of comedy to the point where story is no longer a critical aspect provided that you can put the characters into as many embarrassing and disgusting scenes as possible or on how despite the films rating which supposedly restricts admittance to those 17 and over (yeah, right), it is a perfect example of Hollywood's marketing to an audience for whom it maybe shouldn't be.
American Pie is a textbook case of all of the above points. It's plot, high school seniors vow to lose their virginity by graduation, sinks beyond unoriginal and enters blatant cliche territory. But, the fact that you get to see one of the characters masturbate with baked goods makes up for it in the laugh department.
That said, American Pie was NOT a bad movie and for that matter I DID like it...sort of. It's characters were certainly likeable enough and somewhat sympathetic. And indeed, I caught myself laughing at things that I probably wouldn't want to admit to.
However, like so many teen sex comedies before it (however much more explicit this one is in relative comparison) it is stale and predictable.

A few redeeming performances, notably Chris Klein who, although, seems to be playing the exact same character as he did in Election, comes off honest and refreshing. Even more notably, Eugene Levy, who more or less using his comic genius managed to add hilarity to an otherwise dreary work.