November 27, 2023
'American Pie'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey continue "Wait, That Movie Made HOW Much Money?" Month by rewatching a movie as good as apple pie: the 1999 hit comedy 'American Pie,' starring Jason Biggs and Seann William Scott.
Cast
Jason Biggs as Jim Levenstein
Seann William Scott as Steve Stifler
Chris Klein as Oz
Thomas Ian Nicholas as Kevin Myers
Eddie Kay Thomas as Paul Finch
Mena Suvari as Heather
Tara Reid as Vicky
Alyson Hannigan as Michelle
Shannon Elizabeth as Nadia
Natasha Lyonne as Jessica
Eugene Levy as Jim's Dad
Jennifer Coolidge as Stifler's Mom
Casey Affleck as Older guy at sushi bar
Chris Owen as The Sherminator (Chuck Sherman)
John Cho as MILF Guy
Directed by: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz
Written by: Adam Herz
Notes
- Budget: $50 million (though original script pitched as something that could be made for under $10 million). Domestic gross: $130 million. Worldwide gross: $356 million.
- Rotten Tomatoes: 61%.
- Originally recorded in 2019 as part of the 'Rewatchables 1999' series on Luminary, re-aired in November 2023 as part of 'Wait, That Movie Made HOW Much Money?' month.
- Original script title: 'Untitled Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made for Under 10 Million That Most Readers Will Probably Hate But I Think You Will Love.'
- 70 directors passed before the Weitz Brothers took it.
- Universal sold the foreign rights at Cannes to recoup budget – a major mistake since over half the worldwide gross came from international tickets.
- 4 theatrical 'American Pie' movies + 4 direct-to-DVD spinoffs.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“It's cheerful and hard-working and sometimes funny, and – here's the important thing – it's not mean. Its characters are sort of sweet and lovable.”
Most re-watchable scene
- Chris: The opening party at Stifler's, culminating with the 'pale ale' beer scene.
- Sean: Nadia and Jim webcam / premature ejaculation scene.
- Bill: The pale ale / beer scene + Eugene Levy scenes.
- Also nominated: Eugene Levy's birds and the bees speech; Chris Klein's choir scene (rewatchable for how bad it is).
The most 1999 thing about this movie
- Chris: Jim using 'E-date' – early online dating.
- Sean: The webcam technology generally.
- Bill: Harvey Danger (thought it was a person, not a band).
- Also nominated: scrambled porn, Blink-182 cameo, the clothes/fashion.
What aged the best?
- Jennifer Coolidge stuff aged the best – consensus pick.
- Stifler / Seann William Scott's performance.
- Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas).
- The movie popularizing the MILF concept.
What aged the worst?
- Jim secretly recording Nadia via webcam and broadcasting it – a felony with no consequences; Nadia gets deported but Jim faces zero repercussions.
- The webcam scene is essentially a horror movie by modern standards.
- Chris Klein and Mena Suvari's acting.
- The movie being incredibly white (only minorities: John Cho, the choir teacher).
- Stifler's homophobic dialogue.
- Czechoslovakia reference (country didn't exist in 1999).
Casting what-ifs
- Bill Murray turned down the role of Jim's Dad (Eugene Levy's role).
- Alyson Hannigan was initially offered a different role but read the script and asked to play Michelle (band camp girl) instead.
- 70 directors were sought/passed before landing on the Weitz Brothers.
Best "heat check" performance
- Chris: Casey Affleck – one shot at a sushi bar, on a 1999 cell phone.
- Sean and Bill: Jennifer Coolidge – only in one scene but creates the entire MILF concept.
- Also nominated: Stifler's little brother.
Best "that guy"
- Chris: The Sherminator (Chris Owen) – also in Major Payne, 'Can't Hardly Wait', She's All That, October Sky.
- Eugene Levy discussed but has transcended 'that guy' status thanks to Schitt's Creek.
- Sean: Natasha Lyonne was kind of a 'that guy' at the time.
Over-acting award
- Sean: The lacrosse coach.
- Chris: Mena Suvari has some overacting moments.
- Generally agreed there wasn't much notable overacting.
Half-assed (internet) research
- Took 4 tries to get an R rating instead of NC-17.
- Fake erection: crew cooked a sausage, stuck it on a pencil, wrapped in aluminum foil, placed warm between Jason Biggs's legs.
- The apple pie was from Costco.
- The pale ale Stifler drinks was actually beer with egg whites.
- Chris Klein and Seann William Scott couldn't play lacrosse; practiced 3 weeks then used body doubles.
- 'Say my name, bitch' was ad-libbed by Alyson Hannigan; kept in the final cut.
- Chris Klein dated Katie Holmes for 5 years and in the movie has a YM Magazine with Katie Holmes on the cover.
- Seann William Scott made $8,000 for the first film; paid $15 million for a sequel.
Apex Mountain
- Apex mountain for: Tara Reid, Jason Biggs, Chris Klein (though Election same year competes), Mena Suvari, Thomas Ian Nicholas.
- Not apex mountain for: Jennifer Coolidge (White Lotus later), Eugene Levy ('Best in Show' / Schitt's Creek), Casey Affleck, Seann William Scott.
- 1999 was apex mountain for high school movies in general.
Picking nits
- No visible 'evidence' after the premature ejaculation scenes.
- Video streaming quality in 1999 was nowhere near what the movie depicts.
- Stifler's house prom party – the main characters get exclusive access to bedrooms with no one barging in.
- Finch's plan to spread fake rumors about himself is under-explained.
Sequel, prequel, prestige TV or untouchable?
- Chris Ryan says the closest existing version is American Vandal.
- Would need to be set in a specific year; 2019 with social media would change everything.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Has there ever been a movie pact that didn't backfire?
- Did this movie invent the MILF? (No – a 1995 Usenet post predates it, but the film popularized the term).
Who won the movie?
- Short-term winner: Seann William Scott.
- Long-term winner: Eugene Levy (Bill's pick); the Weitz Brothers (Sean's pick).
- Jennifer Coolidge and Eugene Levy are the belated breakout stars 24 years later.
Producer review
- Producer Craig Horlbeck produced the episode.
- Craig noted how much better 'Superbad' is than this movie – 8 years apart but feels like 28.