American Pie
Rent & Buy
At a high-school party, four friends find that losing their collective virginity isn't as easy as they had thought. But they still believe that they need to do so before college. To motivate themselves, they enter a pact to all "score" by their senior prom.
What critics thought
Critics were genuinely split on American Pie: supporters saw it as a warmer, more self-aware update of the 1980s teen sex comedy, particularly in how it treats its female characters, while detractors found it shallow, prurient, and too reliant on gross-out gags to distinguish itself from the genre it was supposedly refreshing. The cast earned near-universal goodwill even from negative reviews, though several critics felt the script squandered that goodwill.
“It reflects a major shift in contemporary teen culture that the girls in American Pie are as hip to sex as the boys.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“Among this year's bumper crop of shallow teen-age movies, it is the shallowest and the most prurient. It may well be the biggest hit.”
Stephen Holden·The New York Times
“it is only in the presence of the female characters that American Pie offers genuine wit and sparkle”
Kevin Maher·Sight & Sound
Parents guide
- Violence
- none
- Sex
- severe
- Profanity
- moderate
- Substances
- moderate
- Intensity
- none
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Cast & Crew
Paul WeitzDirector
Jason BiggsJim Levenstein
Chris KleinChris 'Oz' Ostreicher
Thomas Ian NicholasKevin Meyers
Alyson HanniganMichelle Flaherty
Shannon ElizabethNadia
Tara ReidVictoria 'Vicky' Lathum
Eddie Kaye ThomasPaul Finch
Seann William ScottSteve Stifler
Eugene LevyJim's Father
Natasha LyonneJessica
Mena SuvariHeather
Jennifer CoolidgeStifler's Mom
David LawrenceComposer
Richard CrudoCinematographyAmerican Pie
At a high-school party, four friends find that losing their collective virginity isn't as easy as they had thought. But they still believe that they need to do so before college. To motivate themselves, they enter a pact to all "score" by their senior prom.
What critics thought
Critics were genuinely split on American Pie: supporters saw it as a warmer, more self-aware update of the 1980s teen sex comedy, particularly in how it treats its female characters, while detractors found it shallow, prurient, and too reliant on gross-out gags to distinguish itself from the genre it was supposedly refreshing. The cast earned near-universal goodwill even from negative reviews, though several critics felt the script squandered that goodwill.
“It reflects a major shift in contemporary teen culture that the girls in American Pie are as hip to sex as the boys.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“Among this year's bumper crop of shallow teen-age movies, it is the shallowest and the most prurient. It may well be the biggest hit.”
Stephen Holden·The New York Times
“it is only in the presence of the female characters that American Pie offers genuine wit and sparkle”
Kevin Maher·Sight & Sound
Parents guide
- Violence
- none
- Sex
- severe
- Profanity
- moderate
- Substances
- moderate
- Intensity
- none
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Cast & Crew
Paul WeitzDirectorJason BiggsJim LevensteinChris KleinChris 'Oz' OstreicherThomas Ian NicholasKevin MeyersAlyson HanniganMichelle FlahertyShannon ElizabethNadiaTara ReidVictoria 'Vicky' LathumEddie Kaye ThomasPaul FinchSeann William ScottSteve StiflerEugene LevyJim's FatherNatasha LyonneJessicaMena SuvariHeatherJennifer CoolidgeStifler's MomDavid LawrenceComposerRichard CrudoCinematographyRent & Buy