A mostly satisfying slice of pie

Rating: 7/10 (1 September 2005)

OK, so it's not The Godfather or Gone With The Wind. It is what it is, and what it is isn't that bad at all. American Pie is a silly farce and if you're willing to turn off your brain for a couple of hours and just go with it you may well find it rather enjoyable. If you're looking for a "serious" movie with some deeper meaning, well then you've obviously come to the wrong place.
The story, such at it is, revolves around a group of male high school seniors desperate to lose their virginity before graduation. But the story's not really the point, it seems as if the story's just there as something to fill space between gags and jokes. And there are plenty of gags and jokes, many tasteless, mostly funny. But even as we race from one joke to the next there is time to get to know a widely disparate cast of characters. Jason Biggs plays the central character of Jim, a mostly hapless type who finds himself on the wrong end of most of the jokes and gags. There's Chris Klein as the athlete, Eddie Kaye Thomas as the eccentric and Thomas Ian Nicholas as the seemingly normal one of the group. Outside the main circle of friends is the outlandish Stifler, played with perverse glee by Seann William Scott. Of course there are also the girls our boys are chasing. Tara Reid, Mena Suvari and Natasha Lyonne wander through but the two standouts are Shannon Elizabeth as foreign exchange student Nadia and Alyson Hannigan as geeky Michelle, two characters who will have a few surprises for the boys chasing after them. Also of note is Eugene Levy as Jim's dad. It's the only real adult role of any significance in the film and Levy brings his typical comic genius touch to the part.
Anyone can do a teenage raunchfest but American Pie is something more. It's a raunchfest with heart if that's at all possible. We get to know and sympathize with these characters and watch them evolve over time. But we also get quite a few laughs at their expense along the way. Certainly American Pie will not go down in the annals of history as an all-time classic. But it's a funny, enjoyable, satisfying experience.