all those who were offended by there 's
something about mary should not tread in the waters of american pie , a gratuitously sexual rollercoaster ride of raunch .
and while this uproariously funny , gross - out summer movie is basically an exercise in bad taste , it also demonstrates a surprising sweetness in the end .
american pie is the latest entry to the offensive teenage - targeted fare this season .
i must question the studio that releases a movie like this .
the producers are aiming these films at the 15 - 24 crowd , but while pushing the limit of possible sex and violence in an r - rated film .
some have even been narrowly avoiding the dreaded nc-17 , a rating the mpaa gives when the adult content surpasses even that of a restricted movie .
american pie was threatened with an nc-17 , but after snipping a few scenes from the finished product , it was given an r .
but at least this new addition is not as careless and unforgiving as something like south park .
it is sick , perverse , and ultimately disgusting - not to mention extremely funny .
american pie is about four desperate teenagers who make a pact to lose their virginity by prom night .
jim ( jason biggs ) , kevin ( thomas ian nicholas ) , oz ( chris klein ) and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) are a quartet of high school students in their senior year who think sex is something they must experience to be successful in their lives ahead .
jim inquires what it feels like when you reach third base , to which one of his friends replies : ` like warm apple pie . . . '
.
of course , this prompts the scene unfairly exposed in the trailers , in which jim and a freshly baked pie have a very intimate moment in the kitchen corner .
there are many moments , such as this , in which director paul weitz uses a game - plan similar to the one frequently displayed in mary : to cause the audience to break down laughing in disgusting disbelief .
american pie is a hard - fought effort that has replenishing rewards if you manage to stick with it .
i loved the young cast in this movie .
consider the subject matter that these actors have dealt with , obviously suggestiveness never rivaled in any of their previous projects , and you should appreciate their performances .
biggs is more than enjoyable , and chris klein ( who recently played a similar jock in election ) is obviously a young talent on the rise .
but in a teen - dominated movie , the best performance comes from comedian eugene levy ( of television 's sctv ) , who is unexpectedly brilliant as jim 's uneasy father .
scenes in which the familiar father - son conversations are brought to interesting new levels are the funniest moments to be found in american pie .
after levy discovers jim 's new use for apple pie , he tells him , ` i did a fare share of that sort of thing when i was your age .
but i never used baked goods . '
it is performances such as his , and bill murray 's in rushmore , that are often unfairly dismissed when awards are handed out .
there are some less - than - original aspects of the film .
a bathroom incident involving finch and a bottle of ex - lax is something we 've seen before .
if weitz is planning to take after the farrelly brothers , then this is a decidedly unwise move : the same prank was pulled in the brother 's dumb and dumber , and used to greater effect .
secondly , the characters are forced into a half - hearted climax that seems more artificial than amusing .
but at one point , in which we discover that american pie does have a heart of
it 's own , biggs asks his buddies why he 's going through so much pressure for something that 's ` not very important anyway . '
and so we realize that while the film is expressive about a subject that is hardly appropriate , it still manages to be mature .
in it 's own way .
Output: P