American Pie

There are two main ways to make someone laugh. One is to point out the eccentricities and abuses we endure in everyday life without comment, to phrase them—visually or verbally—in a way which makes us see the familiar as unexpected. The other is to concoct a scenario so fantastic, yet which is rooted in reality just that little bit, that one is forced to laugh by the sheer fancifulness of it all. "American Pie" is distinctive among comedies I have seen recently not only for its sheer laugh-inducing capability, which is truly impressive, but for its ability to fuse these two comic ideals into a whole which never seems outlandish yet often is outrageous. How else can you describe a movie which is basically built around the universal desire of 17-year-old boys to get laid yet which manages to make the Internet broadcast of the lead boy's premature ejaculation at the "hands" of a beautiful Czech exchange student seem like a natural outgrowth of the story?

Yes, okay, this is another teen movie, and most of them are pretty annoying and useless. But this one stands out from the pack of Oxycuted 21-year-olds pretending they're younger than they ever want to be again for several reasons. For one thing, the characters in it seem real, especially to someone who was a 17-year-old boy only 3 years ago. (If parents are concerned about the obsession with sex and "scoring" in this movie, they can rest assured that it reflects pre-existing reality (I invite them to consider their own teenage years) and is not putting forth a program for future behavior.) This is not just because the characters are not all ludicrously attractive, but also because most of the characters have depth and, at least by the end of the movie, some understanding of themselves. There are no class sluts or purely nerdy girls, and by the end of the movie the male characters have all deepened or matured in some way. This is refreshing in a movie industry where the main teen movie screenwriting scenario involves stereotypes interacting via the witty use of catchphrases.

For another thing (and this should come as some relief to parents), the movie eschews the kind of moral calculus that has been popping up in movies like "She's All That" and "Never Been Kissed" where popularity + sex appeal = an assumed right to primacy, usually expressed by bloodless coups at homecoming dances. Our heroes, with one conspicuous exception, are not exactly matinee idolatry material, and there are no universally feared or lusted-after players in this upperclassmen's struggle. This is a movie about high school life like it is actually led. And, blessedly unlike real life, people seem to be aware of moral consequences of their actions, regardless of who they affect.

Of course, there is one subsidiary character who is not thus aware, and he recieves grotesque comeuppance (for those who see the movie, pun intended). The third way this movie rises above the high-school movie norm, indeed, is its plethora of truly amusing gross-out moments. Most of these happen to Jim, played by Jason Biggs, whose name I mention here in the vain hope that it will stop America from thinking of him as "that guy who [expletive]s the pie in that movie, you know, that was named after that song. Like, he's on the Internet in the movie, and he watches porn and his mom walks in too. That guy." Mr. Biggs also pulls off one of the more beautiful double-takes I have ever seen, one of which Buster Keaton could have been proud, when his prom date has a sudden change of outward intention towards him. I wish him well in shedding the above descriptor.

Though the rest of the roles require no special comic talent or appetite for embarrassment, they are well-taken by the players. The humorous lines (as opposed to situations) are jocular and fun if you enjoyed delivering similar lines in high school, and they are well-delivered here. (I'll refrain from actually quoting so that you enjoy them more.) In fact, the whole movie is pretty well-made, it's funny as all hell, and underneath its grossness it's as sweet as the title pastry. Most high school movies in the last few years have been reprehensibly annoying. This is the exception that proves the rule.

Attractive Man Count: 1.

Attractive Woman Count: 4.

Overall Grade: A. Now we have two comedies this summer that are worth seeing twice.

And they even avoided playing the noxious title song Lindemann

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