The structure and plot is the pie, while the characters are the attractive and sweet whipped cream

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2012)

American Pie is smarter than many, many other teen films that I've seen over the last few years. Its depiction of the fun, spontaneous antics that exist in high school don't take the nihilistic or dehumanizing route many films of the same genre do. Some have written the film off as "unoriginal," and while it really isn't, it's a comedy for a new generation. The seventies had National Lampoon's Animal House, the eighties had Porky's, and the nineties got a nice helping of pie.
The film follows four naive Michigan high school students, who are close to each other, but not to the people they truly want to be close to; girls. Jim (Biggs) is a pasty, awkward teenager hoping to get lucky with the foreign exchange student Nadia (Elizabeth), Chris "Oz" Ostreicher (Klien) is the all-star lacrosse player trying to make things work with the sweet, innocent, and charming choir girl Heather (Suvari), Kevin (Nicholas) is the self-confident and sexually motivated one of the group, hoping to have sex with his girlfriend Vicky (Reid) before they go off to separate Colleges, and Finch (Thomas) is the shy, solemn soul who usually sits idly by while the antics unfold. The four make a pact to lose their virginity by the end of high school, hoping to make it all happen the night of Senior Prom. The gang's motivation comes from their loudmouth buddy Steve Stifler (Scott), who is unapologetically crude, yet irresistibly lovable.
Perhaps the funniest character in the entire film is Jim's dad (Levy), who must be the most conscious and understanding father in the history of film. Many teen films portray parents as out of touch codgers with no knowledge or comprehension of current events. Jim's dad is the total opposite. He is way too understanding, even when his son tries to practice his moves on a baked apple pie.
One character that seems tragically underused is Vicky's friend Jessica (Lyonne). The character is seen at rare points in the film, usually providing her friend with sex insight. She seems like the black sheep of the group, who doesn't fit in anywhere and doesn't really want to. When she does turn up on screen, usually for a slender amount of time, she is witty and fun, much like the rest of the characters.
I was never hugely fond of the eighties' generation-definer Porky's. I found it to be a little weak on the characterization, yet still on par with its projection of high school students. The reason why American Pie soars high on the grading scale is because it manages to provide us with lovable characters that would become familiar to us like those in a sitcom. These characters are sunny and infectious with their one-liners and their wisdom. They aren't indulgent, meaning they are always learning new things and reciting a good moral or two. After not seeing the film in many years, the end scenes were a big surprise to me. It shows the characters are gaining insight and knowledge; I thought that simply couldn't happen in a teen movie. The end also goes in a way one did not expect. I was crossing my fingers that it wouldn't turn into the cartoony cliché I was thinking, and what do you know, it turned out to be just as sweet as the film itself.
What a joyous and lovable excursion American Pie is. It provides well delivered, intelligent laughs and realizes that it doesn't need to discover a new "breast per screen" ratio in order to be funny or memorable. It introduces us to naive, confused teenagers, perhaps somehow reflecting ourselves at the time, and goes from there in what appears to be a totally fresh take on the subject of losing ones virginity. It is simple, efficient, and wholesome even when it shows its darker side.
Starring: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, and Eddie Kaye Thomas. Diretced by: Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz.