American Pie (1999)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Paul Weitz

Writer (WGA):

Adam Herz (written by)

Release Date:

9 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

There's something about your first piece.

Plot:

Four teenage boys enter a pact to lose their virginity by prom night.

Plot Keywords:

Prom | Virginity | Prom Night | Friend | Party

Awards:

9 wins & 14 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14	9:00 PM	COMEDY
Sun. Nov. 15	7:00 PM	COMEDY

Cast

Jason Biggs	...	Jim Levenstein
Chris Klein	...	Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher
Thomas Ian Nicholas	...	Kevin Myers
Alyson Hannigan	...	Michelle Flaherty
Shannon Elizabeth	...	Nadia
Tara Reid	...	Victoria 'Vicky' Lathum
Eddie Kaye Thomas	...	Paul Finch
Seann William Scott	...	Steve Stifler (as Seann W. Scott)
Eugene Levy	...	Jim's Dad
Natasha Lyonne	...	Jessica
Mena Suvari	...	Heather
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Stifler's Mom
Chris Owen	...	Chuck Sherman
Eric Lively	...	Albert
Molly Cheek	...	Jim's Mom

Also Known As:

East Great Falls High (USA) (working title)
Great Falls (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, crude sexual dialogue, language and drinking, all involving teens.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL (cut version) | Malaysia:(Banned) (uncut version) | Finland:K-12 (1999) | Finland:S (2000) (unrated version) | Denmark:A | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (unrated version) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Ireland:18 | Israel:16 | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:B15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #36525) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

402 S. Myrtle, Monrovia, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The song playing when Finch is running to the bathroom is "Walk, Don't Run", by The Ventures.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Lacrosse officials are seen wearing black shorts. Officials of men/boy's lacrosse wear white shorts.

Quotes:

Jim: You realize we're all going to go to college as virgins. They probably have special dorms for people like us.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Starz Inside: In the Gutter (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Super Down

Astoundingly good-natured sex comedy

The director and the writer, Paul Weitz and Adam Herz respectively, will do anything for a laugh -- that's good, as it turns out, because this movie has a great many laughs in it. There's not much of that restricting, suffocating "logic" stuff around, but "American Pie" is immensely enjoyable. I mean, almost none of the things that happen in this film would ever, ever come to pass in real life, but it doesn't matter.

For starters, the characters aren't all one-dimensional. Thankfully, they're two-dimensional, so right away it has an edge on 60-70% of all the movies ever made.

Moreover, it's heart is in the right place. Most high school movies these days are all about cruelty and malice, especially towards (and among) the women. Not the case here. This is the first conventional high school movie I've ever seen that made me smile so much (I say conventional because "Rushmore" still trumps every one of them).

Furthermore, it's very funny. I wouldn't dare give away any of the really great gags (we've all seen the trailer -- that's not the one I mean), but I'll say this: Weitz and Herz are extraordinarily skilled in audience manipulation, which is to say that they know how and when to spring unexpected surprises upon us. They also know how to use foul language for punch, rather than punctuation.

The soundtrack is another positive. It's all about joy and high energy -- even music from Third Eye Blind and Barenaked Ladies that suffers from radio overplay fits the mood appropriately.