American Pie (film)

Five high school seniors from East Great Falls High School in West Michigan are good friends: Jim Levenstein, an awkward and sexually naïve nerd whose dad, Noah, offers him pornography and unwanted sexual advice; Chris "Oz" Ostreicher, on the school lacrosse team; Kevin Myers, the calm leader of the group seeking to lose his virginity to his girlfriend Vicky; Paul Finch, a mochaccino-drinking sophisticate and nerd; and Steve Stifler, a popular but raucous jock who often throws wild parties when his mother is away, and is the only one of the five who has lost his virginity. In the morning following one of these parties, dorky classmate Chuck Sherman claims that he lost his virginity at said party. After hearing this, Kevin prompts Oz, Finch, and Jim to pledge to no longer be virgins by the time they graduate high school.

Vicky accuses Kevin of wanting her only for sex, and he has to repair their relationship before the senior prom night, now the target day the four plan to lose their virginity. Oz joins the school jazz choir to find a girlfriend, learns about sensitivity, and that it is about asking girls questions and listening to what they say. He soon wins the attention of Heather, a girl in the choir. Heather learns about Oz's reputation, breaks up with him, and then learns to trust him when he leaves the lacrosse championship game to perform a competition duet with her.

Jim pursues Nadia, an exchange student from the former Czechoslovakia. Oz tells Jim that third base feels like "warm apple pie" and when found by Noah having sex with a pie Noah is persuaded to keep it from Jim's mother. Stifler persuades Jim to set up a webcam in his room so that they can all watch Nadia changing clothes (after she came back from ballet class). Nadia discovers Jim's pornography collection and while half-naked sitting on his bed masturbates to it. Jim is persuaded to return to his room, where he joins Nadia, unaware that he has sent the webcam link to everyone on the school list. With her, he experiences premature ejaculation twice. Nadia's sponsors see the video and send her back home, leaving Jim dateless for the prom.

Jim thinks band camp geek Michelle Flaherty is unaware of the cam incident so he asks her to the prom. Finch pays Vicky's friend, Jessica, $200 to spread the rumor of his sexual prowess, hoping that it will increase his chances of success. Stifler is turned down by a girl because she wants Finch to ask her; he spikes Finch's mochaccino with a laxative. Stifler plays to Finch's school restroom germaphobia to use the girls' restroom. Finch has diarrhea, and is humiliated by the crowd of students.

Vicky asks Sherman's conquest about his claim. Everyone learns it is false and as a result, Sherman wets himself, in front of everyone at the prom.

The boys plan to fulfill their pledge at Stifler's post-prom party. Kevin and Vicky have sex in an upstairs bedroom. Vicky breaks up with Kevin afterwards on the grounds that they will drift apart when they go to college. Oz confesses the pact to Heather, and renounces it, saying that just them being together makes him a winner. They reconcile and have sex. Oz, honoring his newfound sensitivity, never divulges what they did.

Jim is still bored of Michelle's unexciting band camp stories, all of which start with, "This one time, at band camp." He becomes interested, however, when her stories suddenly become sexual, declaring that "half of band camp is sex ed." Michelle then admits to Jim that she accepted Jim's offer to be his date because she saw the "Nadia Incident" and thought he was a "sure thing". Michelle quickly proves herself to be experienced, and is sexually aggressive in bed. When Jim wakes up afterwards, she is gone and he learns that he had a one-night stand with her, but he is okay with it.

Finch meets Stifler's mother in the basement recreation room where they have sex on the pool table. Stifler finds them on the pool table asleep and he faints. The morning after the prom, the boys eat breakfast at their favorite restaurant where they toast to the "next step".

From Slovakia, Nadia watches Jim's webcam; in the webcam, he is dancing and stripping. Jim is oblivious to his father walking in. Noah walks out of the room and starts dancing. The screen then turns black and fades into a radical abyss.

Cameos

• Blink-182 make a cameo appearance as the band watching Jim and Nadia during their webcast, though drummer Travis Barker is incorrectly credited as former Blink-182 drummer "Scott Raynor". Also, when their song "Mutt" is credited, Barker's name is misspelled as "Travis Barkor". The parts were given when Tom DeLonge's acting agent reported the film needed a band.
• Casey Affleck as Tom Myers, Kevin's older brother.
• Stacy Fuson, Playmate of the Month for February 1999, appears in the crowd laughing at Finch when he exits the girls' restroom.

Northwest view of the Los Cerritos house.

Much of the film is based on the writer's days at East Grand Rapids High School in Michigan.[5][6] In the film, the town is called "East Great Falls", and the high school sports the same school colors — blue and gold — along with a similar mascot — the Trailblazers instead of the Pioneers. The restaurant hangout, "Dog Years", is based on Yesterdog, a popular hot dog restaurant in the nearby Eastown neighborhood of Grand Rapids.[7] The "Central Chicks" and "Central" Lacrosse team that East Great Falls plays against is an amalgam of nearby Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School.[8] The working title for the film had been "East Great Falls High".[9]

Adam Herz wrote the screenplay, tentatively titled Untitled Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Most Readers Will Probably Hate But I Think You Will Love, in six weeks using Porky's and Bachelor Party as inspiration. Principal photography on the film, now titled Great Falls, begun on July 21 and wrapped on September 11, 1998. The film originally received an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America until edits were made to secure an R rating.[10] During the casting of the film, Bill Murray was considered for the role of Noah Levenstein.[11] When Eugene Levy was cast, he insisted on being allowed to improvise his lines, as he disliked how his character was written in the script. In the final film, most of his lines were improvised.[12]

The film was actually shot in Southern California, most notably in Long Beach using Long Beach Unified School District area high schools. Millikan High School, whose school colors are blue and gold, was used for exterior shots, and Long Beach Polytechnic High School was used for interior shots. Located in Los Cerritos, Long Beach, California, both schools are within five miles of the Virginia Country Club and Los Cerritos Neighborhood (where Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Donnie Darko were filmed).[13]

The film's soundtrack peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200 chart.[27]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[28]

The following songs were included in the film but were not featured on the soundtrack:

• Sex-o-rama Band – "Love Muscle"
• The Ventures – "Walk Don't Run"
• Barenaked Ladies – "One Week"
• The Brian Jonestown Massacre – "Going To Hell"
• Third Eye Blind – "Semi-Charmed Life"
• Oleander – "I Walk Alone"
• Hole – "Celebrity Skin"
• Everclear – "Everything to Everyone"
• Harvey Danger – "Flagpole Sitta"
• Duke Daniels – "Following a Star"
• Simon & Garfunkel – "Mrs. Robinson"
• Libra Presents Taylor – "Anomaly - Calling Your Name (Granny's Epicure Mix)"
• Etta James – "At Last"
• Loni Rose – "I Never thought you would come"
• Norah Jones – "The Long Day is Over"
• Marvin Gaye – "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)"
• Maria Muldaur – "Midnight at the Oasis"
• Simple Minds – "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

• Superbad a 2007 film with a similar premise.
• List of films featuring surveillance

Wikiquote has quotations related to: American Pie

• Official website
• American Pie on IMDb
• American Pie at the TCM Movie Database
• American Pie at AllMovie
• American Pie at Box Office Mojo
• American Pie at Rotten Tomatoes