Tuesday Cap - Vol. 10

Title: American Pie

Notes: It's been well documented on this blog the past three years that I love the AMERICAN PIE franchise. And yeah, for the most part, the direct-to-DVD 'sequels' (Sidenote: by all means, I don't want to include them in the official PIE universe, but the inclusion of Jim's Dad in all four DTV releases sorta cements this). As I also said before, these movies are my BREAKFAST CLUB, the flicks that I grew up with as a teen and I most closely identify with. But besides that, AMERICAN PIE is just plain fun. Stifler, the guy you either really love or can't wait to fall down some stairs and break his neck, nearly always ignites a chuckle or full blown laughter out of me. Jim, and furthermore Jason Biggs, is fantastic and has impeccable comic timing. Alyson Hannigan steals the show in her few scenes (to be fully exploited in the sequel). The thing about AMERICAN PIE that makes it stand out is that first and foremost, it's about the characters. Losing their virginity and getting the girl is their motivation, yes, and drives the plot, but it's the characters we grow to love and remember after the movie, not just the female nudity guys paid the ticket price to see. It may not seem like much, but compared to a lot of similarly-themed flicks the past decade, what they achieved here is nothing short of a minor miracle. The AMERICAN PIE Trilogy will forever be in my DVD collection, even as a old bloke, and I doubt I'll ever tire of 'em.

Discuss: Really, should they not have bothered with a sequel, let alone a third? Is this truly Chris Klein's best role? As a teen, did you ever fancy joining with a pie? Is Alyson Hannigan the coolest band nerd of all time or what? Is Stifler's Mom really worth all the hype? Are you annoyed of Stifler? Know any Stifler-type blokes in high school/college/present? Is this first installment better than the others?