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I've repeatedly heard American Pie being referred to as "A
Porky's for the 90s," but after now having seen both, Porkys
makes American Pie look like Woody Allen! That's not to say that
American Pie could be considered an intellectual film that rivals
Shakespeare, but it's a damn funny movie that has something real
and true to say about the adolescent experience. It also succeeds
in often completely throwing the viewer off-guard with a brand
of visual comedy that is quite unique and very 90's.
Much of the Porky's comparison stems directly from the
plot, that follows four high school friends and their quest to
get laid. While each of them are seemingly of different social
backgrounds and popularity, none of them have "done the deed."
Oz (Chris Kline) is a star athlete whose transparent attempts
at being romantic are immediately detected by the women he targets,
while Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) has a girlfriend, but has yet
to get to the shuttle launch stage with her. Out of the other
two, Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is the most mysterious of the group.
His plan, if it could be called that, is to arouse enough curiosity
out of the girls at school to simply arouse! And finally we get
to Jim (Jason Biggs), whose total lack of experience eventually
drives him to baked goods...
On the female side, Tara Reid is Kevin's girlfriend Vicky, who
wants everything to be 100% for that magical first time. Shannon
Elizabeth brings considerable assets to the role of the Czechoslovakian
exchange hottie, Nadia. And one of my absolute favorite
actresses of late, Natasha Lyonne, has some of the movies funniest
moments as Jessica, the girl whose got all the answers and influence.
Last but not least on my list is Alyson Hannigan, from Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, who is impressive as the band geek Michelle. Not
only is she really cute to watch, she has the movie's funniest
line, hands down.
One of the joys of watching American Pie for me was how much
it brought back the high school experience. I can distinctly remember
there being nothing else more important than getting just a little
bit. (Editor: Not that you'd know, snicker snicker.) That
may be a crass assessment of my high school days, but that's how
it was. I doubt any other guy would (truthfully) be able to plea
to other intentions during those years. However, I also can't
remember there being that many virgins by senior year as the film
depicts. Maybe that was just the freewheeling, decadent late 80s,
but you'd never be able to find four guys at my high school that
hung around together without at least one of them at one point
having had been able to "double click the mouse."
I know that American Pie was a huge hit in theaters, but I think
it will go on to even bigger success on video. This is the type
of film that video was made for. I know I'm looking forward to
watching it again because it's the only movie I've seen recently
that actually made me throw my hands over my face because I couldn't
believe what I was actually seeing. That's rare for me, and I
think that may be the highest compliment I could pay American
Pie. It truly shocked me!
Special mention must be made that American Pie is being presented
in separate R-rated and Unrated DVD versions. Our review is for
the Unrated edition, which offers up more pie-lovin' and thus
will undoubtedly end up being the preferred version. Funny thing
is, I know that the reason to offer both versions is because stores
like Blockbuster won't carry any unrated stuff, but exactly who
would be offended by the unrated version that would still really
get into the R-rated edition? Can you imagine someone saying "I
would have enjoyed him making love to the pie if it only weren't
so graphic...Grandma's having nightmares!"?
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The overall quality of this anamorphic widescreen DVD is generally
excellent. Colors are bold and vibrant with no bleeding or oversaturation.
The amount of detail possible with the extra resolution provided
by the anamorphic transfer is wonderful, with a crisp look and
absolutely no over enhancement. The print used was of the highest
quality, with no defects to mar the image such as dirt or scratches.
While the black level on the disc is absolutely spot on, some
of the interior scenes, like the party early on, seem to come
off a bit too dark. This directly affects the shadow detail, which
at times can be rather undefined and lacking. Other than that,
there are plenty of great things to about this image. Although
it's not perfect, it is quite above average.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is hit and miss, but in the
end comes out a bit better than most comedies. Dialog is clear
and free, without masking or distortion, and surround use is there
but it's just really quiet. That is one step above normal comedy
soundtracks, which virtually ignore the surrounds. There's not
much bass for anyone to hear, mostly in a few of the songs. Again,
this movie is so funny that you'll never notice the soundtrack
because you'll be laughing really hard the whole time.
A French Dolby 2.0 surround track is included along with English
Captions and Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Universal has released American Pie as yet another of their Collector's
Edition series. Here's what goodies you get:
Feature Commentary is a screen-specific audio commentary
track with director Paul Weitz, his brother and producer Chris
Weitz, writer Adam Herz and cast members Jason Biggs, Eddie Kaye
Thomas, and Seann William Scott. I usually find commentaries where
there are multiple participants to be occasionally confusing on
the order of who's speaking. This one is no exception, but does
redeem itself by being both funny and informative. This is the
place where you'll get to learn all about "man chowder."
Figure that one out.
The Universal-produced Spotlight On Location is more in
line with a making-of featurette than a full-blown documentary.
This one, though, is a notch above the norm, interspersing interviews
with the cast and crew with funny clips from the movie. The interview
portions contain cast musings on the ribald subject matter as
well as the actors own experiences. It's every bit as R-rated
as the film and as such seems to be made with this DVD in mind.
I can't imaging them using this for promotion on the WB!
The Outtakes offer up a small variety of alternate takes
and improv moments. Some of these are very funny, and it's a shame
that the offering is so short. Music Highlights, another
Universal hallmark, gives you direct access to 22 of the film's
songs. Unfortunately, they are presented within the film and not
as isolated songs.
The promotional angle of the disc includes the Universal Soundtrack
Presentation, a commercial for the American Pie soundtrack,
as well as a music video by Tonic for their song "You Wanted
More." The American Pie Theatrical Trailer is included
along with the trailers for the new Andy Kaufman biopic Man in
the Moon and coma-inducing Snow Falling on Cedars, accessible
through the Universal Showcase selection. All three of
these trailers are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen with
Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, a first for Universal. Even more trailers
can be found in the Recommendations section. There you'll
find previews for The Blues Brothers, Animal House and American
Graffiti.
Finalizing the disc are Universal's standard Cast & Filmmakers
bios and Production Notes. One last thing included here
and on the new Fast Times at Ridgemont High DVD is a listing for
Classic Quotes. This gives you instant access to 20 six-month
old classic lines from American Pie. Unfortunately, the line that
I think is the best of the movie is not even included. I call
shenanigans!
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc
in your PC?
Pop in the disc and you're presented with a custom American Pie
interface, embedded with weblinks to various Universal sites and
the official American Pie portal, plus a bonus Behind-the-Scenes
feature exclusive to the ROM side. It's a realtively short few
minutes of additional interviews, and you can watch it in a rather-smallish
video window.
Parting Thoughts
This movie is definitely not for all tastes. If you like your
comedy a little more raunchy than most, American Pie will "fill
you up" (don't you just love those little critic sound bites?)
The extras on this disc are worthy of the Universal Collector's
Edition banner and at a price below the norm for them, so it is
even more of a bargain. I'll be recommending this one to all my
friends, and that includes you, my DVD compatriots!
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