Movie Guys: Outrageous ‘American Pie’ serves up slice of teen life

Friday, July 9, 1999 | 9:18 a.m.

Grades: Jeff, B; Dave, B-.

Starring: Jason Biggs, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne.

Directed by: Paul Weitz.

Screenplay by: Adam Herz.

Rated: R for profanity, nudity, sexual situations and mature themes.

Running time: 100 minutes.

Playing at: Regal Cinemas Texas Station 18, Regal Cinemas Sunset Station 13, Regal Cinemas Village Square 18, Regal Cinemas Colonnade 14, Las Vegas Drive-In,Century Desert, Cinedome 12 Henderson, Century Orleans 12, UA Showcase mall, UA Rainbow Promenade.

Synopsis: A group of friends at the end of their senior year make a pact to lose their virginity by prom night. In their outrageous attempt to fulfill this mission, they come to some surprising, hilarious and often touching realizations about themselves, their friendships, their notions of love, romance and their relations with the opposite sex.

Jeff: High school, what memories. Funny, my group of friends never made any kind of pact to lose our virginity, but the topic was sure on our minds, 24 hours a day. I was an '80s kid and was weaned on a pair of John Hughes films, "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club," as well as the ever-funny and perverted "The Last American Virgin" and the one and only, almighty rite-of-passage film of all time, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Now for the '90s, just before the end of the century, comes an honest and truthful portrayal of the American teenage male, "American Pie." We follow this group of guys -- a mixture of jocks, geeks and nerds -- in their final days of high school and they all agree that they can't graduate as virgins. They make a pact to lose "it" on prom night and with time running out, the search begins for the girls who will have the honor of making them men. The search is half the fun.

Dave: I must concur with you, Jeffrey: I really don't remember any sort of outlandish pact between my circle of friends that involved sex as a competitive priority. However, sex was just as prevalent as anything else. It's nice to know how some things never change. For instance, take Jim (Jason Biggs), whose hormones have him constantly getting caught by his parents watching scrambled pornography on TV, experimenting with condoms, or even feeling the warmth of a homemade apple pie (if you miss the movie, then use your imagination on that one).

Then there is his friend Kevin (the "Rookie of the Year" kid, Thomas Ian Nicholas) whose steady relationship with his longtime girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid) has him "stranded at third base." These very issues weighed heavily on the average high schooler who seemed desperate to find maturity by means of sex.

Jeff: Besides friendship, Jim has a unique relationship with his father, played to comic perfection by Eugene Levy, one of the funniest men alive. Jim's dad thinks it's time to have that talk with his son and marches into his room one afternoon to show him various adult magazines -- pictorial aides if you will -- to help him better understand the facts of life. He knows Jim is at that awkward stage and tries as best as he can to be a helping and understanding father. Levy's humor is subtle, sincere and possesses a "Father Knows Best" quality.

As for the apple pie -- the definitive symbol of Americana and youth -- it begins with Jim's curiosity about what it feels like to get to third base. "It's like a warm apple pie" his friends confess. Not since the shower scene in "Porky's" has there been a scene as hysterical as when Jim's dad finds his son "getting" a piece in the kitchen. The laughs are long and hard.

High-tech comes to teen-sex comedies when Jim points his bedroom web camera toward Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), a beautiful exchange student who has many things on her mind -- except studying. Jim's pals are watching online and, it just so happens, so is the entire town. Getting caught with your pants down and being humiliated is a recurring theme in "American Pie," a situation every teenager -- old and new -- knows quite well.

Dave: At the risk of being humiliated and ridiculed by his fellow jocks is star lacrosse player Oz (Chris Klein, seen this spring in "Election"). Taking the advice of a college girl, that he must be more attentive and sensitive to a girl's needs, this jock takes up choir where he hooks up with a co-ed, Heather (Mena Suvari). However, he discovers something more than any pact with his buddies could ever provide. Finally, there is Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), the mystery man around campus whose fabricated reputation exceeds him. These cliched characters are the very essence of "American Pie," with whom we can relate.

This decade's adolescents have yet to find a teen film that can define their generation, unlike the aforementioned '80s films described by Jeff. Teen flicks such as "Can't Hardly Wait" and "She's All That" missed the mark of infusing any sort of realism with situational humor. Rookie scribe Adam Herz has tapped into the shameful but necessary ingredients that make a film memorable with every generation. The realism of the afterlife of high school and living those last days of adolescence to the fullest are mixed with the comical moments of good old-fashioned gratuitous nudity by our foreign exchange babe, or casual crude talk among our friends and the importance behind both sex and young love.

Jeff: Sorry, Dave, "She's All That" was an excellent example of a teen movie that dealt with being different and lonely, but "American Pie" is all about the boys. It lacks any kind of strong female characters. They drink, party with their friends and do all of the things that teenagers do, but the film doesn't draw attention to it, unlike other films of the '90s where the characters would flaunt their drinking or fooling around. Still, it's one of the better coming-of-age films that I've seen in a while. It's funny, it's sexy and at times it's downright vulgar. It's a winner in my book.

Dave: Unfortunately, the movie really does not have one thing it can call its own: The film's crude humor owes a debt of gratitude to the Farrelly Brothers. Breaking the barriers of good taste with last year's box- office hit, "There's Something About Mary," the Farrellys broadened the horizons for a wider audience with their tasteless offbeat comedy. In addition, "American Pie's" young, talented cast of unknowns make for a believable clique. Be sure to grab a piece of the "Pie."

Movie Buzz

"Superman" lives?: Warner Bros. has brought in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" co-writer William Wisher to take a turn at penning its long-awaited fifth "Superman" feature film. The decidedly un-"Superman"-like Nicolas Cage is still attached to the film, although it appears Tim Burton will no longer direct. Screenwriter Wisher recently wrote an adaptation of Michael Crichton's "Airframe" and a prequel to "The Exorcist."

Dead rights: According to the Hollywood Reporter, Universal-based Lawrence Gordon Productions has acquired the film rights to the upcoming Dark Horse comic series "R.I.P.D." The comic features a team of deceased police officers working for a divine law enforcement agency. The film involves a murdered man spending eternity hunting down evil creatures.

"Hannibal" marches on: Screenwriter David Mamet ("Wag the Dog," "The Winslow Boy") is in talks to develop the big-screen adaptation of the "Silence of the Lambs" sequel "Hannibal" with director Ridley Scott ("Alien," "Blade Runner"). If all goes well, the film is expected to start filming early next year for a tentative fall 2000 release.

Name That Flick

"Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come." Our winner this week is Audrey Rager, who was the first to call and identify the quote spoken by James Earl Jones in "Field of Dreams." Way to go, Audrey!

For this week, who said this and in what movie: "On television, Mr. President, you look much smaller"? Have you heard it before? If you think you know the answer, call the Movie Guys Hotline at 225-9026, or log onto our website at themovieguys.com. Be sure to spell your name and leave your daytime phone number and if you're the first to answer correctly, we will print your name right here in our column for the entire Las Vegas Valley to read. See you next week!

The Movie Guys,

starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun (additional material provided by Thomas Feeney). You can also read their capsule reviews of movies in Las Vegas Weekly magazine. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies and themovieguys.com.

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