The ‘American Pie’ series is one that I have never particularly cared about. Even as a teenage boy and the right age to be into the series I never had any urge to seek them out. I did watch the first one as a teen and enjoyed it enough, but I also saw ‘American Pie Presents: Band Camp’ and though it was pretty terrible, but that is where my knowledge of the franchise came to an end (I also have a familial connection to the franchise, but we will get to that later). And what I did remember of the films meant that, going into watching the whole series, including the spin off films, I was expecting to be uncomfortable about how poorly they have aged. But who knows, maybe they will surprise me. So, with mild apprehension I present to you the ‘American Pie’ franchise.
American Pie (1999)
We start with one of the two films I had seen prior to this Franchise Friday and I have to say I still thought it was a fun time. My suspicions about the film having aged poorly were proven correct although it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. Well, except for the scene where they broadcast a girl getting changed over the internet without her knowledge which is horrendous. They try and make up for it by having it become an embarrassing moment for one of our characters, but it is still one of those pull on your collar kind of moments. Other than this the only real thing that has aged is the clothing choices and soundtrack, but I love me some pop punk so that does not bother me in the slightest. In terms of comedic moments, it has several which still get a big laugh, with the majority of them involving Eugene Levy who is easily the best part of this film. Narratively it isn’t exactly anything you haven’t seen before and it does not hide where it gets its influences from; the band at the prom scene play ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’. But all the characters are fun and memorable, and this allows you to get sucked into all the narrative threads that the film has going. One issue I do have with the film is that it was close to having a good message but muddies it a little by wanting to have its cake and eat it too. The main narrative of the film is that our four main characters have made a pact to lose their virginities before they graduate from high school. At the prom scene it is looking like the majority of the group are failing in their task and this leads to a moment where three of the four point out how stupid it is to be so hung up on something that in the end doesn’t matter at all. That is a good message to give in a film that is targeted at teenage boys, but then they all end up having sex before they graduate anyway which kind of lessens the message in my eyes. It’s not to big of a deal in regard to the film’s quality but I feel like it was worth mentioning. Overall, I still had a good time with this film and can see myself coming back to it again. It also set up me up quite nicely for the rest of the franchise. Maybe it will actually be more fun then I first thought. I guess there is only one way to find out.
American Pie 2 (2001)
This film reminds me quite a lot of ‘Home Alone 2’ (1992). Not because it is similarly narratively or anything like that, but because like that sequel it takes a lot of the narrative and jokes of the first film and just repeats them. It does change them enough that they are not exactly the same, but they are effectively just repeating the most famous moments of the first film. This means there is actually very little I can say about the film that I didn’t say about the first one. There are a couple moments of character development, but for the most part the narrative is almost exactly the same as the first film. Fortunately, I enjoy the characters in the film, and it has enough funny moments, again mostly from Eugene Levy, to make it worth a watch on the whole. Other than that, there is very little to say. If you like the first film, you get a lot of the same in this one. One aspect of the film that has improved is the soundtrack. Gone are the pop punk songs you have never heard of and in comes all the pop punk songs you have heard a million times and I am here for it. Speaking of the soundtrack, that is where my familial connection to the franchise comes in with the song that plays over the end credits being by Witness, who just so happen to be my Uncle’s old band. So yeah, that’s a thing.
American Wedding (2003)
And the quality is back on the up. In regard to straight up laughs I probably had the least with this film, but narratively it is definitely a step up from ‘American Pie 2’. There is one scene in this film which might be one of the funnier in the franchise where a planned bachelor party turns into several funny scenarios, but on the whole, it is the weakest of the three comedy wise. But this film has a huge amount of character development in comparison to the first and second film, especially for the character of Stiffler. The character was more of a bit part player in the first film, became more front and centre for the second film, and this film sees him effectively become the main character. The major arc is his and all the scenarios that the characters get into are as a result of actions he takes. It is the strongest the series has been in regard to building character up until this point and it means that narratively this film is the most engaging by some way. I enjoy watching these characters and having them continue to develop film on film means that I’m much more likely to be back for me so props for that. But this is ‘American Pie’ so the film still has plenty of the gratuitous sex humour that the series is known for, so it has something for all the fans in a way. I don’t enjoy this as much as the first film, but it is a step above the second. Now we move onto all the spin off films and this is where I have a feeling everything is going to horribly wrong…
American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005)
And the series takes an instant nosedive. To be fair this film isn’t completely horrible. Eugene Levy is still in it and gets one of the two laughs I had in the film so that’s a positive. The other laugh I had is another. After that I am struggling to come up with anything good to say. I suppose the narrative is fine. Yes, it is cliched and doesn’t offer anything you haven’t see before, but it is well structured and allows for some character development at the very least. But the cheapness of the narrative is only bettered by the cheapness of the rest of the film. It has a recycled soundtrack form the last film and looks a hundred times worse in terms of production quality. The film is not performed terribly, although some of the actors are definitely better than others and there some very awkward moments from several of the cast. But the problem is that the characters are either uninteresting or unlikeable so you can never get invested in what they are going through. The main character, who is the younger brother of Steven Stifler, is an arsehole and despite the films attempts is completely unlikeable. Remember that scene in the first film where they record a girl getting changed without her knowledge? Well he spends the entire film doing exactly the same thing expect this time no one is safe from his criminal activity. This wouldn’t be an issue if the character got any sort of comeuppance, but because the film is following classic narrative structures, he ends up being able to gain forgiveness far too easily. He should be in jail is what I am trying to say, but instead all his new friends, who let me remind you he recorded without their knowledge, all forgive him and he even gets the girl. Not a good look film. Not a good look at all.
American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (2006)
So in the introduction I said that I had only ever seen the first film in this franchise and ‘Band Camp’, and while that remains strictly true I had completely forgotten I had seen about twenty minutes of this film as well and had struck it from my memory. That would suggest that the original experience I had with the film had not been engaging enough to keep my attention, and the second time around wasn’t much different. Okay, I’ll admit it is not horrific and I may put it just above ‘Band Camp’ on the current totem pole but that doesn’t mean it is any good. We have a whole new host of characters in this film and they are more fun than the characters from the last film, so it has that going for it. They still have very questionable morals and are far from being incredibly thought out but at least they’re not the worst people imaginable despite two of them also being Stiflers. There are less laughs in this than the last film however, and apart from a couple decent visual gags it offers up very little comedically. The main narrative is also so paper thin that the film decides to just take time out to have scenes specifically made for laughs which have no bearing on the plot. This would be fine if the scenes were funny but alas. Not close to being like the main series, but so far, the better of the two spin-off films. I have two more left to go, will either of them surpass my very low expectations me?
American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007)
It only took one film for those very low expectations to be chewed up and spat out. This film was pure shit. Even Eugene Levy who is in the film more so than the two previous ones couldn’t save it. It is the majority of the characters from the last film who are back and they’re decently fun to watch, but boy was this film just the biggest of slogs. There is just nothing here. It is effectively an hour and half of watching people get drunk and try and have sex. Oh, and throw up all over each other. This series is not opposed to that in any sense, but this film takes that and turns it up to a thousand and it is not fun in the slightest. There is very little else to say about it, it is just pure cack from start to finish. There is one scene that explains what this film is perfectly, and it is where we get a close up, slow motion shot of someone’s ejaculate as it flies through the air and lands on a girls teddy bear. Need I say more?
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (2009)
And so we come to the last of the spin-offs and oh boy what can I say about this film. Well the first scene has our protagonist have sex with a peanut butter sandwich before his dog comes and licks it off him, which is swiftly followed by a Nickelback song. At the very least I can say this for the film, it set the bar very low from the first few minutes. Let’s see, shortly after our protagonist goes to a brothel and receives a blowjob from an old prostitute who swiftly dies and gets lockjaw while in the act, leading to a ‘hilarious’ scene of slapstick. Oh and a CGI moose rapes a guy, and the worst thing about that scene is the CGI effects. Hidden within all that is an actual narrative with a good message behind it so that earns the film points, but it is still a cheap, poorly acted, and executed film overall. Still somehow better than ‘Beta House’ mind.
American Reunion (2012)
So maybe it was just because I had suffered through four shit films before returning to the original series for the finale, but I had a good time with this film. Being back with the original characters was already a great bonus and seeing how they have all changed yet stayed the same despite the almost ten years that have passed was fun. I will say immediately off the bat that you won’t get much from this film unless you have seen the original three films because a lot of it is call back jokes and cameos from all the characters from those films. At times it felt like an Avengers movie when a character would just appear (and that was a lot because all of your players are in this), and it was enjoyable. Away from that it is your pretty standard fare; the group of guys getting into awkward situation which leads to misunderstandings and a resolution at the end. It is classic Hollywood style comedy which doesn’t add much. But having seen all the films in quick succession and becoming somewhat attached to the characters it was nice to see again. It also has a few genuinely great comedic moments, as well as the more crude humour you would expect. Like I said, unless you have seen and enjoyed the rest of the main series this is going to o nothing for you, but for me as a passive fan of those three films I did have fun with it. Then again, I think watching anything slightly competent would have been a relief after the hell I went through with the last four films.
The ‘American Pie’ franchise isn’t exactly high art and to say it hasn’t aged well would be putting it lightly. But as sex comedies go the main series is pretty solid and fun the whole way through. All the characters are fun and likeable and there is a genuine charm to the films that made me get invested. Yes, they can be problematic and a lot of the more gross out humour just isn’t for me, but on the whole, I do enjoy the series. The spin-off films are another matter entirely and the fact that I have seen them all is enough to make me sick. So, the takeaway we have here is cinematic films good, made for TV films bad. And after suffering through those films I need a pallet cleanser so next week I am watching a trilogy of which I love all three films, even if the third one is admittedly pants.