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Despite hype, raunchy film lacking
By Samuel McKewon
Editor
I have a hunch that most viewers
and reviewers of “American Pie” will
shower it with praise, calling it
raunchy, sexy, cool and just down
right hilarious. That is, after all, the
buzz that surrounds a movie that has
been compared to “There’s
Something About Mary.”
There will be stories of its near
NC-17 rating and people will file into
the theaters in anticipation of the
grossest gross the world have ever
seen.
If my hunch plays out, it’ll prove
r*
to me just how little moviegoers
expect of films today. Most are
anointing comic greatness on this
movie from Paul and Chris Weitz.
Well, it isn’t that great. It’s not
even particularly good. It’s pretty
average, actually - a John Hughes
comedy with an extra dose of nudity
that’s supposed to make us die laugh
ing, as if drinking a cup of semen
filled beer or watching a boy put his
little man into an apple pie was really
that funny.
“American Pie,” a tale about four
high school seniors boys trying to
lose their virginity by prom, has its
humorous moments - they’re just too
few and too far in between. And as for
The Facts
Title: “American Pie’
Stirs: Jason Biggs, Chris Klein Eddfe
Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas
Director: Paul Weitz
Rating: R (language, sexuality)
Running Time: 1:37 (97 minutes)
Grade: C
Five Words: ’Pie’ falls short of hype
those claims from the filmmakers
that this is real teen living, I laugh.
No, this movie is just as cheesy and
stupid as most other teen comedies. It
aims no higher and fares no better.
But the movie wants to think it
does as it introduces Jim (Jason
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Page 2 ■ Daily Nebraskan Summer Edition ■ Thursday, July 8,1999
Biggs), Oz (Chris Klein), Kevin
(Thomas Ian Nicholas) and Finch
(Eddie Kaye Thomas), the four in
search of sexual conquest. We get
most familiar with Jim, a smart kid
who more or less freezes up when he
tries to talk to girls, especially the for
eign exchange babe (Shannon
Elizabeth).
Oz is a star lacrosse player who
gets in touch with his sensitive side in
the school choir, where he warms to
Heather (Mena Suvari). Kevin is try
ing bed down his love-minded girl
friend Vicky (Tara Reid), while the
business-minded Fihch looks to score
women with lies.
Along tor the ride is Stifler
(Seann William Scott) the jerk that’s
only popular because of the parties he
throws, the worldly Jessica (Natasha
Lyonne) and Jim’s father (Eugene
Levy). Alyson Hannigan is band geek
Michelle, who fashions her flute a
sexual device.
Out of the ensemble cast, Biggs
connects the best with a glib sense of
comic timing as Jim. One senses he
grabbed the lead based on his face
alone, which screws up into contort
tion during a birds and bees talk with
dad. His strip scene gone horribly
awry is among the movie’s funnier,
albeit overly long, pieces.
Klein and Suvari are the only cou
ple that generates any chemistry as
Oz and Heather, and their story is
sweet, not funny. Kevin and Vicky
have no spark, which illuminates the
weakness of the actors playing them.
*
Blink-182
“Enema of the State”
MCA Records
Grade: B+
r
Few bands can twist topics of
prank phone calling, masturbation
and flatulence into a solid record
worthy of a second listen. However,
Blink-182 are funny guys who make
good enough music to warrant such
attention.
After beginning its musical career
on the tiny independent label Grilled
Cheese Records, the band has since
surfaced onto MCA Records and has
made a big name for itself.
This official band of the “Jim
Rome Show” can be seen in the film
“American Pie,” a movie that cap
tures the bands off-the-wall personal
ity. The exposure has helped launch
Blink’s latest release “Enema of the
State” to a No. 9 debut on the
Billboard Top 100.
“Enema of the State” is Blink
182’s most balanced record to date.
The album is a steady 12 songs that
are different enough to keep each
number fresh. With new drummer
Travis Barker, it seems Blink-182 is
now playing a style of poppy punk
rock that fits the band’s attitude the
best.
However, there are no strong
hooks on “Enema” which warrant
several listens on their own, such as
“Carousel” or “Josie” from past
I wouldn’t want to spoil the big
laughs in movie (which, for me,
weren’t many), but I expected many
more. Paul Weitz, who is credited as
the director, had to cut the film three
times to achieve a “R” rating. I won
der if he cut out many laughs. I expect
an uncut version when the movie hits
video stores.
What remains is a movie that does
not recognize where it talent lies. The
movie literally abandoned Jessica,
who’s played by the best actress in the
movie. Her character is highly under
developed. Once again, the women
exist merely as objects to acted upon
and not as characters themselves.
That’d be OK if fhe movie created
indelible male characters, which it
doesn’t, except for Jim.
And believable / Hardly, which
angers me, considering the cast and
crew’s boasts of its authenticity.
Look, no 17-year-old girl (European
or not) walks into a boy’s room, strips,
finds his dirty magazines, mastur
bates to them, then invites the boy,
whom she doesn’t know, to have sex
with her. She doesn’t do it sober, any
way. Ridiculous moments like this are
galore. Only a handful are funny. -
And unlike “South Park” a bril
liant work with twice the raunch, this
movie is short on wit. Every good
movie, even “There’s Something
About Mary” has it. Be it a lack of
class acting or an over-emphasis on
the crass, “American Pie” lacks it,
and in the end, seems pretty half
baked.
efforts. Where “Enema” lacks in
grand tracks, it makes up in continu
ity. “Enema” thankfully has no
comics shorts to break up the music.
Similarly to the past two albums,
the first song on “Enema of the State”
is its best song, thanks to the vocal
styles of guitarist Tom Delonge.
In fact, most of the better tracks
on the record are sung by DeLonge.
He twists the melodies of his vocals
around more often on “Enema” to
add spice to each song he sings, espe
cially “Dysentery Gary” and “All The
Small Things.”
Bassist Mark Hoppus has a
straightforward vocal style, and his
tracks are more often centered on
failed romantic relationships. His
better songs include “The Party
Song,” which has an intended
Nirvana “Come As You Are” refer
ence, and the album’s first single,
“What’s My Age Again.”
Unfortunately, there is a lack of
any hard punk songs that would add
more energy to the album. While it
wouldn’t help the flow of the record, a
rocking song in the vein of
“Enthused” would have been a wel
comed addition.
Nevertheless, “Enema of the
State” is Blink-182’s first album that
doesn’t need sketches to sell itself.
The music stands strong on its own.
— Patrick Miner
