Very entertaining

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 1999)

American Pie transports us all back to the much easier time of high school when all we had to worry about was getting a date for the prom, your finals and what to do after high school. What sets this film apart from the other high school films that came out this year is the amount of time invested in the characters, especially the female characters. The four male characters seem to think they have it all figured out, much like most of his thought we did in high school. What we learn, as these guys do, is that life is not that simple. We watch them make their mistakes and laugh at them because we've all done the same things. We say the wrong things, make the wrong choices, but it helps us grow. In the course of this film, the four characters grow as people. Jim learns of what it feels like to be used, Oz transcends the role of typical jock and becomes something better. Kevin learns that there is more to a relationship than sex, and Finch, well Finch appreciates the finer things in life. The only one who really doesn't grow is Stiffler, only because he provides the role of jerk, and he does it well. The female characters are all smart, and they are more than pretty faces. Like their male counterparts, they think they have things figured out, and for the most part, they do. The one who really stands out is band geek Michelle, played with scene stealing gusto by Alyson Hannigan. All of her conversations start out with "At band camp..." and continue on from there. But, she's a lot smarter than she lets on and in a great scene we see just how clever this girl really is. I knew I was going to enjoy American Pie, I didn't realize that I would enjoy it as much as I did.