A slice of latter-day Americana

Rating: 7/10 (9 September 2007)

Ordinarily, I avoid American teen movies like the plague. But a good movie is a good movie, and this is one of the best examples of this normally obnoxious genre. Its basic premise  a group of high-school leavers endeavour to lose their virginity before setting off for college  is a fairly simple one. It is in the quality of the comedy and (some) of the central characters that sets American Pie apart. The story centres on Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs) and his attempts to get beautiful exchange-student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) into bed. The best supporting roles (and side stories) come from the high-brow (and slightly pretentious) Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Steve Stifler (Seann W. Scott) who both provide additional colour and depth to proceedings. To be frank, I found Oz (Chris Klein) and Kevin's (Thomas Ian Nicholas) stories to be fairly bland affairs, straight out of a teen magazine (they were virtually redundant in American Pie 2). With its American college rock soundtrack and its almost National Lampoon mindset, American Pie does feel a little dated today. Nevertheless, it contains enough quality to make it worth a viewing.
Owain Bevan