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American Pie (film)

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This article is about the original 1999 film. For the film series, see American Pie (film series).

American Pie
Group picture of the cast. Alyson Hannigan has a flute in hand.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Weitz
Written byAdam Herz
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRichard Crudo
Edited byPriscilla Nedd-Friendly
Music byDavid Lawrence
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures (English-speaking territories)
Summit Entertainment (International)[2]
Release date
  • July 9, 1999 (1999-07-09)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$11 million[3]
Box office$235.5 million[3]

American Pie is a 1999 American coming-of-age teen sex comedy film directed and co-produced by Paul Weitz and written by Adam Herz. It is the first film in the American Pie theatrical series and stars an ensemble cast that includes Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Alyson Hannigan, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Shannon Elizabeth, and Jennifer Coolidge. The film's story centers on a group of four classmates at East Great Falls High School: Jim Levenstein (Biggs), Kevin Meyers (Nicholas), Chris "Oz" Ostreicher (Klein), and Paul Finch (Thomas). The youths make a pact to lose their virginity before their high school graduation.

The film's title refers to a scene in which the protagonist is caught masturbating with a pie after being told that third base feels like "warm apple pie". Herz has stated that the title also refers to the quest of losing one's virginity in high school, which is as "American as apple pie."

Released on July 9, 1999, in the United States, American Pie received mixed reviews from critics, who were polarized on the film's raunchy humor but praised the performances of the cast.[1] The film was a box office success, grossing $235.5 million worldwide on a $10 million budget. Retrospective critical analysis has placed American Pie among the greatest teen films of all time.[4][5][6]

American Pie's success spawned three sequels: American Pie 2, American Wedding, and American Reunion. In addition to the primary American Pie saga, there are five direct-to-DVD spin-off films bearing the title American Pie Presents: Band Camp, The Naked Mile, Beta House, The Book of Love, and Girls' Rules.

Plot

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At East Great Falls High School, Michigan, four friends await the end of their final school year before college: the sexually inexperienced Jim Levenstein; the insensitive school lacrosse star Chris "Oz" Ostreicher; the intellectual and philosophical Paul Finch; and Kevin Myers, who is deperate to have sex with his girlfriend Vicky. During a house party hosted by womanizing jock Steven Stifler, the friends learn that their dorky classmate Chuck Sherman has apparently lost his virginity. Frustrated at their own lack of sexual success, the four make a pact to lose their virginity by the night of their final school prom in three weeks.

Kevin struggles to seduce Vicky because she wants to wait for the perfect moment to lose their virginities and fears Kevin only wants her for sex as he will not say he loves her. On the advice of Vicky's friend Jessica, Kevin attempts to win her over by giving her an orgasm. Kevin's older brother directs him to a book of sex tips compiled by students over the years, from which he uses the "Tongue Tornado" cunnilingus technique to successfully rekindle his relationship with Vicky. Finch pays Jessica to spread rumours about his sexual prowess and large genitalia, leading to him becoming popular among the high school girls. When Stifler's prom date leaves him in the hope that Finch will ask her to go, Stifler taints Finch's mochacchino with laxative and directs him into the girls toilet where he has explosive diarrhea. Finch finds a crowd waiting outside to mock him, destroying his curated reputation. Oz joins the school choir to meet people unaware of his reputation with women, but he learns to enjoy performing, and gains the attention of his fellow performer, Heather. She invites Oz to the prom, but after seeing him allow Stifler and his lacrosse teammates to make suggestive jokes about her, she rejects him.

Desperate for experience, Jim, inspired by Oz's description of a vagina, has sex with a warm apple pie, but is humiliated after being caught by his father. When Czech foreign exchange student Nadia asks Jim to help her study at his house after her ballet class, Stifler convinces him to set up a webcam so they can watch her change clothes. Jim unwittingly shares the livestream with the school's entire e-mail directory, letting everyone watch as Nadia undresses and masturbates to Jim's porn collection. Kevin and Finch encourage Jim to walk in on Nadia, which he does, and she invites him to join her, but he prematurely ejaculates twice before they can have sex, to her disappointment. Following the video, Nadia's sponsorship is revoked and she returns home, while Jim is left the laughing stock of the school. Exasperated, Jim asks the ostracized and seemingly naive band geek Michelle to the prom.

As school draws to a close, Oz abandons his lacrosse championship game to perform a duet with Heather, and they reconcile, while Vicky decides to have sex with Kevin after prom. At the prom, Kevin insists Jim, Oz, and Finch fulfil their pact and lose their virginities, but they refuse, frustrated at the social pressures to have sex for the sake of it, and accuse Kevin of using the pact to hide his own fear of losing his virginity. After learning that Sherman lied about having sex, the boys reconcile with Kevin, who admits he is afraid.

At Stifler's post-prom party, Kevin finally tells Vicky he loves her and they have sex. Afterward, Vicky ends their relationship, admitting it is unrealistic for them to maintain a long distance relationship while attending different colleges; they part amicably. Oz confesses his feelings to Heather and they spend a romantic night together by the lake. Finch meets and propositions Stifler's mom and they have sex on the pool table; Stifler later walks in on them and faints. Michelle reveals her aggressive sexuality and takes Jim upstairs to lose his virginity. The next day, Jim, Oz, Finch, and Kevin meet up and discuss how things will change after highschool, toasting to their next step.

Cast

[edit]
See also: List of American Pie characters

Cameos

  • Blink-182 make a cameo appearance as the band watching Jim and Nadia during their webcast, though drummer Travis Barker is incorrectly credited as former Blink-182 drummer "Scott Raynor". Also, when their song "Mutt" is credited, Barker's name is misspelled as "Travis Barkor". The parts were given when Tom DeLonge's acting agent reported the film needed a band.
  • Casey Affleck as Tom Myers, Kevin's older brother.
  • Stacy Fuson, Playmate of the Month for February 1999, appears in the crowd laughing at Finch when he exits the girls' restroom.

Production

[edit]
Northwest view of the Los Cerritos house.

Much of American Pie is based on the writer's days at East Grand Rapids High School in Michigan.[7][8] In the film, the town is called "East Great Falls", and the high school bears the same school colors — blue and gold — along with a similar mascot — the Trailblazers instead of the Pioneers. The restaurant hangout, "Dog Years", is based on Yesterdog, a popular hot dog restaurant in the nearby Eastown neighborhood of Grand Rapids.[9] The "Central Chicks" and "Central" Lacrosse team that East Great Falls plays against is an amalgam of nearby Forest Hills Central High School.[10] The working title for the film had been "East Grand Rapids".[11]

Adam Herz wrote the screenplay, tentatively titled Untitled Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Most Readers Will Probably Hate But I Think You Will Love, in six weeks using Porky's and Bachelor Party as inspiration.[12] Principal photography on the film, now titled Great Falls, begun on July 21 and wrapped on September 11, 1998. The film originally received an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America until edits were made to secure an R rating.[13] During the casting of the film, Bill Murray was considered for the role of Noah Levenstein, Jim's dad.[14] Jonathan Taylor Thomas was considered for the role of Jim Levenstein.[15][16] When Eugene Levy was cast, he insisted on being allowed to improvise his lines, as he disliked how his character was written in the script. In the final film, most of his lines were improvised.[17]

The film was actually shot in Southern California, most notably in Long Beach using Long Beach Unified School District area high schools. Millikan High School, whose school colors are blue and gold, was used for exterior shots, and Long Beach Polytechnic High School was used for interior shots. Located in Los Cerritos, Long Beach, California, both schools are within five miles of the Virginia Country Club and Los Cerritos Neighborhood (where Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Donnie Darko were filmed).[18][19]

Soundtrack

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The film's soundtrack peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200 chart.[20]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
No.TitlePerformed byLength
1."New Girl"Third Eye Blind2:16
2."You Wanted More"Tonic3:52
3."Mutt"Blink-1823:23
4."Glory"Sugar Ray3:29
5."Super Down"Super TransAtlantic4:07
6."Find Your Way Back Home"Dishwalla4:04
7."Good Morning Baby"Dan Wilson of Semisonic & Bic Runga3:34
8."Stranger by the Day"Shades Apart4:02
9."Summertime"Bachelor No. 13:46
10."Vintage Queen"Goldfinger3:04
11."Sway"Bic Runga4:23
12."Wishen"The Loose Nuts3:04
13."Man with the Hex"The Atomic Fireballs3:01

The following songs were included in the film but were not featured on the soundtrack:

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 60,000*
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Reception

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Box office

[edit]

Despite insiders claiming it to be a potential sleeper hit, Universal Pictures sold off the foreign rights in an attempt to recoup its budget. American Pie was sold successfully to foreign distributors at the Cannes International Film Festival.[24] It earned $18.7 million during its opening weekend and defeated Wild Wild West to reach the number one spot.[25] The film grossed $235,483,004 worldwide,[3][26] $132,922,000 of which was from international tickets. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $102,561,004 and was the twentieth highest-grossing film of 1999. In Germany, distributed by Constantin Films, it was the most successful theatrical release of 2000, spending 4 weeks at number one and grossing $33.5 million.[27][28][29]

Critical response

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On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, American Pie has an approval rating of 62% based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 5.80/10. The critical consensus reads, "So embarrassing it's believable, American Pie succeeds in bringing back the teen movie genre."[1] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 58 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[30] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of A− on a scale of A to F.[31]

The more negative reviews include Stephen Holden of The New York Times who felt American Pie was "one of the shallowest and the most prurient teen films."[32] Ernest Hardy of Film.com wrote that American Pie "had a few amusing bits, however the audience should strongly note that the movie is really awful, and that it was not worthy of guilty pleasure status."[33] Jim Sullivan of The Boston Globe wrote that American Pie is a "gross and tasteless high school romp with sentimental mush."[34] Roger Ebert was more supportive, awarding it three out of four stars. He noted that "[i]t is not inspired, but it's cheerful and hard-working and sometimes funny, and—here's the important thing—it's not mean. Its characters are sort of sweet and lovable."[35]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Recipients Result Ref.
2000 American Comedy Awards Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Eugene Levy Nominated
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Comedy Actor Eugene Levy Won [36]
Favorite Actress Mena Suvari Nominated [36]
Favorite Actor Alyson Hannigan Nominated [36]
Bogey Awards Bogey Awards in Platinum Universal Pictures Won
Casting Society of America Artios Award for Best Casting for Feature Film Universal Pictures Won
CFCA Award Best Promising Actor Chris Klein Nominated
Csapnivalo Award Golden Slate Award for Best Teen Movie Universal Pictures Won
Golden Screen Universal Pictures Won
Golden Screen with 1 Star Universal Pictures Won
MTV Movie Awards Best Comedic Performance Jason Biggs Nominated [37]
Breakthrough Female Performance Shannon Elizabeth Nominated [37]
Breakthrough Male Performance Jason Biggs Nominated [37]
Best Movie Universal Pictures Nominated [37]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Actor Jason Biggs Nominated
Choice Breakout Performance Chris Klein Nominated
Choice Comedy Universal Pictures Nominated
Choice Liar Chris Klein Nominated
Choice Sleazebag Seann William Scott Nominated
Young Hollywood Awards Best Ensemble Cast American Pie Won
Breakthrough Female Performance Mena Suvari Won
Best Soundtrack Uptown Records & Universal Records Won

Home media

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American Pie was released on DVD and Blu-ray in both theatrical and unrated versions.[citation needed] The unrated version was released January 11, 2001 on laserdisc. A new two-disc Ultimate Edition DVD release of the film debuted on July 31, 2001, to coincide with the release of its successor American Pie 2.[38]

Sequels and spin-offs

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The success of American Pie launched a film series that started with American Pie 2, released on August 10, 2001. The first film's ensemble cast reprises their roles in the sequel, which surpassed the first film's gross by taking in $287.6 million worldwide.[39] A third film in the series, titled American Wedding and focusing on Jim and Michelle's impending marriage, was released on August 1, 2003. The film was notably absent of multiple main ensemble cast members from the first two films, including Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, and Tara Reid, among others. Although it failed to top the gross of the first two films, it was nevertheless a box office success, grossing $232.7 million worldwide.[40] A fourth film in the series, titled American Reunion and focusing on the main ensemble returning for a high school class reunion, was released on April 6, 2012, grossing $235 million worldwide.[41]

Beginning in 2005 with Band Camp, a spin-off, direct-to-video film series based on American Pie started. Four more films in the spin-off series were released between 2006 and 2020: The Naked Mile, Beta House, The Book of Love, and Girls' Rules. All five of the films feature a character that is a relative of Seann William Scott's character, Steve Stifler.

Legacy

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Despite critic reviews being mixed at the time of its release, American Pie has retrospectively been considered as one of the greatest teen films of all time.[4][5][6]

American Pie heavily boosted the careers of many of its young ensemble cast members. Jason Biggs immediately went on to have lead roles in multiple teen comedy films, such as Boys and Girls (2000), Loser (2000; he starred in this film with fellow American Pie cast member Mena Suvari), and Saving Silverman (2001).[42] Seann William Scott also received lead or supporting acting credits in the comedies Road Trip (2000), Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), and Evolution (2001), as well as a supporting role in the cult classic supernatural horror film Final Destination (2000).[43]

The saying "MILF (Mom I'd Love to Fuck)" was used in regard to the character of Stifler's mom (Jennifer Coolidge). The film's usage of "MILF" helped popularize the term and introduce it to a mainstream audience.[44]

A scene in the film in which Jim sticks his penis inside an apple pie became arguably the most infamous scene from the film.[45]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "American Pie". Rotten Tomatoes. April 27, 2021. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  2. ^ Minns, Adam (February 23, 2000). "UPI floats Bullwinkle, Hannibal". Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c American Pie at Box Office Mojo
  4. ^ a b "The best teen movies of all time". MSN. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "The 50 Best Teen Movies". Empire. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "70 Best High School Movies of All Time". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  7. ^ "Adam Herz". IMDb. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  8. ^ "The Michigan Daily Online". umich.edu. February 29, 2008. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2012 – via Web Archive.
  9. ^ "History Page "Good Ole Hot Dogs" at 1505 Wealthy, Grand Rapids, Michigan, restaurant". Yesterdog. Archived from the original on September 17, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  10. ^ eeggs.com (May 28, 2000). "American Pie Reunion". Eeggs.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  11. ^ Karon, Paul (July 9, 1998). "Elizabeth 'Falls' for U teen sex comedy". Variety. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  12. ^ Staff, Movieline (June 1, 1999). "Adam Herz: His Piece of the Pie". Movieline. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  13. ^ "16 Delicious Facts About American Pie". www.mentalfloss.com. July 8, 2015. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  14. ^ Locke, Greg W. (August 26, 2011). "The Top 25 Roles Bill Murray Didn't Take". Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  15. ^ "Jason Biggs Almost Lost 'American Pie' Role to Jonathan Taylor Thomas". November 16, 2017.
  16. ^ Kaplan, Ilana (July 9, 2019). "'American Pie' at 20: That Notorious Pie Scene, From Every Angle". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  17. ^ Branch, Chris (March 17, 2015). "The 'American Pie' Dad Was Originally A Much Creepier Character". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "American Pie Filming Locations". Seeing-stars.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  19. ^ Armitage, Helen (April 25, 2022). "Where Was American Pie Filmed? All Locations". ScreenRant. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "American Pie – Original Soundtrack – Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  21. ^ American Pie at AllMusic
  22. ^ "British album certifications – Original Soundtrack – American Pie". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – American Pie". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  24. ^ "Foreign Strategy May Burn Universal." Archived January 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Los Angeles Times thru Orlando Sentinel (June 13, 1999).
  25. ^ "'American Pie' Cuts Biggest Slice". Los Angeles Times. July 13, 1999.
  26. ^ American Pie – Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information Archived November 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine The Numbers
  27. ^ Chartsurfer.de. "Jahrescharts Deutschland". www.chartsurfer.de. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  28. ^ Groves, Don (October 8, 2001). "'Pie' flies as sequels score o'seas". Variety. p. 14.
  29. ^ Blaney, Martin; Scott, Mary (February 11, 2000). "German Horror Success". Screen International. p. 35.
  30. ^ "American Pie". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  31. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  32. ^ Stephen Holden (July 9, 1999). "'American Pie': The Road to Manhood, Paved in Raunchy Jokes and Pie". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 15, 2006. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  33. ^ Ernest Hardy (May 5, 2001). "Review of American Pie by Ernest Hardy". Film.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2001. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  34. ^ Jim Sullivan (September 7, 1999). "Sex, comedy are main dishes served with "American Pie"". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 14, 2001. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  35. ^ Roger Ebert. "American Pie". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  36. ^ a b c "Blockbuster Entertainment Award winners". Variety. May 9, 2000. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  37. ^ a b c d "2000 MTV Movie Awards - Past Movie Awards- Awards Show Highlights and Winners - MTV.com". MTV. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  38. ^ "'American Pie,' and then some". Detroit Free Press. July 31, 2001. p. 25. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  39. ^ "American Pie 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  40. ^ "American Wedding". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  41. ^ "American Reunion". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  42. ^ "Saving Silverman movie review (2001)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  43. ^ "Final Destination Gave Us the Most Inventive Horror Franchise of the 2000s". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  44. ^ "25 Years Ago, American Pie Launched An Unlikely $1 Billion Franchise". /Film. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  45. ^ "Jason Biggs revisits his infamous 'American Pie' scene". CNN. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
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