Would you believe me if I told you that the budget for the hugely successful American Pie was just $11m?! Yes, that’s all it took to bring this great film to the world. I was listening to the commentary on the DVD recently, which I really do urge anyone else to do, it’s really quite funny and I was intrigued as they were always mentioning the budget, telling us that to have an extra actually say something instead of just being involved in a scene was going to blow their budget! I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing, but now I can.
Directors Paul and Chris Weitz bought us a film that will be remembered for ages, a film that will sit gracefully on the shelves of most film fanatics like myself. A fair few people slammed the movie for it’s stupidity and corny scenes, but I for one love it along with loads of other people across the nation and world. It goes down as one of my all time favourite comedy films, and I’ve watched a fair few, believe me!
The tagline? Four teenage boys make a pact to loose their virginity before their high school prom. Don’t sound to great, but all the events that surround this pact make the film what it is, how can we ever forget Nadia stripping on the webcam, Jason in his really embarrassing situations and the great Stifler up to all kinds of antics.
This film excels in what it doe’s. It takes every embarrassing situation and milks it to the extreme for our enjoyment. Has your mum ever walked in on you when you were
doing naughty things to yourself? Has your dad ever bought you porn mags and explained the parts of a womens body? Well I’m thankful to say no to the 2nd one! Ahem! Hopefully that will bring a smile to some of your faces! There are so many gross out jokes in this movie that I could sit here and list a whole page worth in Word quite easily if I really wanted to bore the tears out of you (yer, like I aint doing a good enough job of that at the moment!)
The plot revolves around what I have already said, Four lads make a pact to loose their virginity before prom night. For some it should be harder, for others, you’d think not so hard, it’s just sex afterall, but sex is one of those hugely embarrassing subjects, where all kind of things could go wrong, and believe me, they all do.
Jim (Jason Biggs) is a happy go lucky lad facing his last year at college along with his mates. He lives with his parents and seems to have quite a good relationship with his dad, not that he would call it that. His dad, refered to in the film as ‘Jims Dad’ (Eugene Levy) was a teenager once two and he makes it known, walking in on hugely embarrassing moments for Jim. He backs him up whatever though, even when he catches him having fun with the extremely well known apple pie, we just witness them talking about how they are going to explain it to Jim’s mother!
Oz (Chris Klein) is one of the more sensitive guys, but he still can’t seem to get his manhood in the love pit (as it were!). He doe’s things the other guys in the film wouldn’t even contenplate, singing in a quire for instance because theres a nice girl also singing there. He seems to try a bit too hard with the girls though, comes over as over sensitive, and if not, comes over as a guy who doesn’t care about anything as long as he gets his little gentleman sucked. Star of the lacrosse team, he really should be a hit with the girls, but sadly, isn’t!
Kevin (Thomas Nicholas) is the guy I would lay my bets on. He’s the one with the long term girlfriend, surely he would get his end away first, though it’s not that easy, especially as his girlfriend has got to have her first time with everything ‘perfect’ with lots of ‘I love yous’ and candles etc etc, he just can’t seem to pick the right moment!
Then theres Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas). Finch is sophisticated to say the least. He brings his on flask of Mocha into school and sits on a bench sipping at it out of it’s plastic lid. He’s the only person to have ever gone without laying a brick in school (going to the toilet!!) so inevitably theres a funny scene involving laxatives!
Last but not least, theres Stifler (Seann William Scott). He’s the only one of the five who hasn’t made the pact but adds great comedy moments to the film, if only he was in more films!
I’m not going to go into anymore of the plot as it’s quite loose and pretty hard to write about. It’s one of those plot’s that would end up with you not needing to watch the film once I had finished. I will go into a couple of the funniest (for me anyway) scenes.
The most funny scene for me was the apple pie, which is where the title comes from. We see Jim after he has been told that the naughty girls parts feels like warm apple pie, literally with his pants down doing the business with the pie his mum had left on the side for dinner. If that’s not amusing enough, along comes his dad and walks in on him! We are then taken to a scene where we see a battered apple pie and Jim and his dad sitting round a table wondering what they are going to tell Jim’s mum. Classic stuff!
My next favourite scene would have to be the toilet scene, purely because I love toilet humour and all the jokes that go with it. Eddie who plays finch acted superbly hear with great facial expressions and movements on the toilet! Little doe’s he know that he has run into the ladies and everyone in the school is waiting outside the doors ready to cheer him on his exit for taking a crap in school! (He always used to go home at lunchtime to take a crap!)
The acting in the film is superb from everybody who plays a part. You really couldn’t ask for any more out of this film. It gives you everything you want on a plate and proves excellent for repeat viewings. Don’t expect anything serious from this film. Don’t expect your mind to be captured or used in any of the 95 minutes running time, you can leave your brain in bed for this film, but do expect to be thoroughly entertained, as long as your into this kind of stuff that is.
The film is rated 15 for some pretty strong sexual in nature scenes and some nudity. It’s a gross out teen comedy, so keep that in mind if you haven’t watched it yet. Not really one to put on in front of the family with your Gran and watch together!
Highly Recommended.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
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