___
|
|
New Century of Cinema
DOWSE Guide to the
Movies
by Tony Lee editor of
Pigasus
Press
American Pie
91 or 92 minutes [see below] (15) Universal
Director: Paul Weitz
review by Gary Couzens
Four high school students pledge to lose their virginity by the
end of term. This is very much Porky's revisited, but since this was made in
the 1990s, the film does without much of the misogyny and gratuitous nudity of that
earlier film. The female characters are given a little more depth, and the men are
often seen as ridiculous. That's not to say that this is refined: this film isn't
above gross-out jokes involving laxatives and semen in a beer glass, a long sequence
where Jim (Jason Biggs) gets off with beautiful exchange student Nadia (Shannon
Elizabeth) not realising that their exploits are being webcast to the rest of the
school, and the now-notorious scene involving the title foodstuff's possibilities as
a masturbation aid. That said, it's a pleasant hour and a half of lowbrow humour,
with good supporting roles from the ever-impressive Natasha Lyonne and Eugene Levy as
Jim's dad, who tries to teach his son about sex with embarrassing results. Alyson
Hannigan (Willow in TV's Buffy, The Vampire Slayer) plays a music student
who's not as nerdish as she first appears; she gets to deliver one of the best lines
in the whole film, which you'll have to hear for yourself - it's all in the context
and timing.
American Pie troubled the American censor, and as a result had to edited
to avoid the commercially-restrictive 'NC-17' rating. An unrated version is available
in the US, and both versions are available here. It says something about differing
attitudes towards sexual content that the BBFC passed both versions, without cuts,
with a 15 certificate. The difference is minimal, amounting to ten seconds plus some
substitute footage. (The pie scene is performed standing up in the cut version,
horizontally in the uncut one, and if you can explain the reasoning behind the
acceptability of the former against the latter, please do.) The long version is
subtitled "Unseen - What You Didn't See at the Cinema". The short version is
available in fullscreen and widescreen (1.85:1) versions. You pays your money and you
takes your choice, but frankly there's not a great deal of difference. The DVD
version is the shorter one, with the cut material available as outtakes. It also
includes: cast-and-crew commentary, gag reel, location spotlight, the trailer,
classic-lines index, production notes and biographies.
Back to Movies on Dowse index.
..........................................................................
Back to
main page
Archaeology
Architecture
Art
Autos
Books
Computing & Internet
Cryptozoology
Dowsing
Dreams
Education
Entertainment
Fantasy art
Fiction
Free Stuff
Games
Gardening
Geography
Geology
History
Landscapes
Movies
Music
Mysteries
Myths & Legends
Paranormal
People
Philosophy
Poetry
Religions/Beliefs
Science Fiction
Sciences
Security online
Shamans
Theatre
Travel
TV
Urban Legends Webmasters tools
Writing & Publishing
................................
dowse your start page