Issue 25: Summer edition ☀️

🎶 Hi, Hi, Miss American Pie, Eugene Levy really made this franchise fly … 🎶

“Keep it real, homies.” -Noah Levenstein (American Pie 2)

This week, we leave the hallowed halls of a Boston courtroom and travel to … East Great Falls High? Yes, it’s time for my guilty pleasure movie pick and for this last summer movie series, I’ve decided to share not just one film but an entire franchise; one that justifies overuse of the 🥧 emoji. I’m talking about the American Pie series, which despite its crude, outlandish humor, has a surprising amount of heart and nostalgia. It just so happens that the first film in this quirky bunch is celebrating its 25th birthday this week, which is highly appropos for issue 25.

-John

Moving Forward

Episode 474: Summer movie series: American Pie franchise (1999-2012)

On this week’s episode

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2024 Summer movie series

American Pie main franchise (🥧🥧🥧)

American Pie (1999) (🥧🥧🥧)

In the first film, four high school seniors make a pact to lose their virginity before graduation. This is the film that revitalized the teen sex comedy genre in the ‘90s, grabbing the baton from its ‘80s predecessors, including Revenge of the Nerds and Porky’s, while taking cues from There’s Something About Mary in pushing the gross out humor envelope. Revisiting it today, what stands out is the earnestness of the main characters, and the slice of life moments (no pun intended … or maybe pun intended - I’ll just go with it) that are surprisingly heartfelt.

Favorite slice of 🥧 life moment: Oz leaving the big lacrosse game to sing with Heather at the glee club competition. The college campus setting pulls at the nostalgia strings.

American Pie was written by Adam Hertz and directed by Paul Weitz, grossing $235M worldwide on an 11M budget. I’d also like to take a moment to wish AP a very happy b-day! 🥧🎂 While I can’t say you don’t look a day over July 9, 1999, you’re definitely in the words of Paul Finch, “like a fine wine,” only getting “better with age.”

American Pie 2 (2001) (🥧🥧🥧 1/2)

Taking place a year after the first one, the gang reunite after their first year of college only to find you can’t quite go back home again. After the police break up Stifler’s house party, the friends decide to rent a beach house, get summer jobs, and hopefully see the “big picture.” Of all the films, this one is my favorite trip down nostalgia lane. While it’s not quite as well constructed as the first, and unsure what to do with all of its returning characters, it builds on the heart and warmth of the original.

Favorite slice of 🥧 life moment: Oz and Heather saying goodbye at the airport before she departs for Europe: a scene that harkens back to a more innocent, carefree time.

American Pie 2 was directed by James B. Rogers with a story written by Adam Hertz and David H. Steinberg. The first sequel grossed $287.5M worldwide on a $30M budget.

American Wedding (2003) (🥧🥧🥧)

The friends have graduated college and the franchise’s main couple, Jim and Michelle, are now engaged. The story revolves around the core friends entering the next phase of adulthood as Jim continues to struggle with lingering insecurities from high school. Meanwhile, Stifler causes his usual chaos, nearly ruining the wedding with his antics as he tries to win over Michelle’s sister Cadence. Plotwise, the second sequel is a logical and mostly well done continuation of Jim and Michelle’s storyline. Unfortunately, it suffers from the glaring absence of franchise staples, including Oz, Heather, Nadia, and Vicky while still not being able to provide enough to do for supporting characters like Kevin and Finch.

Wishlist idea: Wedding could have been a much better and complete film had they brought back Oz and Heather for a double wedding storyline. This would have made for a more satisfying sequel while giving the cast a bigger sandbox to play in.

Favorite slice of 🥧 life moment: Jim and Michelle walking on the beach after Stifler inadvertently destroys the wedding’s floral arrangement. There’s a quiet maturity that shines in this pair that simultaneously contrasts and complements their quirky personalities.

American Wedding was directed by Jesse Dylan and written by Adam Hertz, grossing $232.7M worldwide on a $55M budget.

American Reunion (2012) (🥧🥧🥧 1/2)

Nine years after Wedding, the gang come back home for their 13th high school reunion. Everyone has moved on except for Steve Stifler who’s stuck at a dead end job; still yearning for his high school glory days. This is a return to form with most of the characters from the first film joining in on the fun. The fourth installment nicely captures the sentiment we feel for the characters while neatly tying up some lingering plot threads from the previous films.

Favorite slice of 🥧 life moment: The gang revisiting their favorite high school hangout, “Dog Years,” which is a nice callback to the end of the first film. A close second is Stifler out of place and out of time at his own party, surrounded by classmates who long ago moved past high school.

American Reunion was written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. The fourth installment grossed $235M worldwide on a $50M budget.

Main cast:

• Jason Biggs as Jim Levenstein

• Sean William Scott as Steve Stifler (aka “Stifler,” “Stifmeister”)

• Alyson Hannigan as Michelle Flaherty

• Chris Klein as Chris “Oz” Ostreicher

• Tara Reid as Victoria “Vicky” Lathum

• Eddie Kaye Thomas as Paul Finch

• Thomas Ian Nicholas as Kevin Myers

• Mena Suvari as Heather

• Shannon Elizabeth as Nadia

Supporting cast:

• Eugene Levy as Noah Levenstein (aka “Jim’s dad”)

• Jennifer Coolidge as Jeanine Stifler (aka “Stifler’s mom”)

• Molly Cheek as Jim’s mom

• John Cho as John (aka “MILF guy”)

• Natasha Lyonne as Jessica

• Chris Owen as Chuck Sherman (aka “The Sherminator”)

The American Pie franchise is currently streaming on Hulu. You can also check your local library or purchase the American Pie films on physical or digital media from Amazon (affiliate paid link).

2024 Summer movie series

American Pie 5?

Since 2012’s American Reunion, there have been ongoing rumors of a fifth entry in the long-running franchise. Rewatching the first one, it’s hard to believe that it garnered a sequel much less three of them. Yet all of the films have done consistently well on modest budgets, proving that these characters and stories have staying power. Additionally, the popularity of the main timeline movies have led to five spinoffs under the “American Pie Presents” umbrella. Unfortunately, these “side-quels” as I call them, fail to live up to the quality of the originals, and are mostly a blot on an otherwise solid track record. Given that it’s been over a decade since Reunion, I think the window has closed for another big screen entry. Instead, I would prefer to see the American Pie saga continue on the small screen, in the vein of the brilliant Cobra Kai series, which has successfully expanded The Karate Kid mythology. As we’re now approaching the mid-2020s, there’s room to revisit the legacy characters while introducing a new generation through their kids who would now be approaching the same age that their parents were during the first film. Moreover, Steve Stifler has the potential to be the next Johnny Lawrence. He’s still stuck in past, replete with crude and outdated attitudes that clash with modern sensibilities. I would love to see how a new series could evolve his character while keeping him a Stifler at heart.

A long-form serial would also allow more screen time to individual characters; reviving old arcs while threading new ones. It’s noteworthy that Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, two of the Cobra Kai braintrust were behind the crowd pleasing Reunion. They have a proven track record of shepherding popular IPs; striking the right balance of plucking the nostalgia strings while expanding the lore. Add Josh Heald, their Hot Tub Time Machine and Cobra Kai partner-in-crime to the mix, and you have the ideal trio to turn this classic dessert into pie ala mode.

2024 Summer movie series

The American Pie Presents spinoffs (🤢)

The spinoffs or side-quels are only tangentially connected to the main franchise, lacking any of the main characters save for Eugene Levy as Noah Levenstein. While Levy is a bright spot, his brief appearance in these films is not enough to justify watching them. The jokes are unfunny and gross, and the tone surprisingly mean spirited; lacking the warmth and magic of the originals. Avoid these poor imitations. Your brain cells will thank me later.

American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005) (🤢🤢)

What do you get when you make an entire film set around Stifler’s younger brother, within a story based off of a joke from the first movie? A pointless, plodding side-quel that quickly overstays its welcome and can’t justify its existence. Sadly, this is the best of the spinoffs, which should tell you something about the rest.

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (2006) (🤢 1/2) -and- American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007) (🤢)

A pair of subpar Revenge of the Nerds and Animal House clones with two Stifler cousins as the main characters.

American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (2009) (🤢 1/2)

This one breaks away from the prior films, returning to East Great Falls High with a new cast of characters. Poorly executed, stuffed full of pointless cameos, and yet another Stifler cousin, this one feels like a shoddy parody of the original.

American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules (2020)

Not reviewed.

Available now at my bookstore on Pangobooks

Despite the title, this isn’t an American Pie prequel and Andrew Jackson isn’t a distant relative of Stifler, at least I don’t think so … 🤔 

Quirky reads 📚

Some great books to fill your summer hours. 

[Affiliate disclosure: these are affiliate links to Amazon through which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.]

• Broken by Don Winslow (****)

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