Published by Mason Oldridge, 30 July 2024
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
One time… at band camp… 25 years ago we were introduced to Jim, Kevin, Oz and Finch, four lads attempting to lose their virginity before graduating high school. A simple plot that would lay the groundwork for turn-of-the-century sex comedies. A world away from the 70s sex comedies like Confessions of a Window Cleaner a generation before, it paved the way for future films of the genre such as Road Trip, The Girl Next Door and Superbad, and spawned a franchise consisting of four main films and five spinoffs. So how did the film become the OG of its kind? Well, some of the best and most notable characters fall outside of the main four, such as Jim’s Dad, who is always on hand to provide awkward sex advice, the overly-confident nerd Sherman aka The Sherminator and of course the Stiffmeister himself Steve Stifler. There is also the recurring ending of Finch having sex with Stifler’s mum in what essentially birthed the MILF acronym. But it could be argued that the film series’ multiple key scenes elevates its legacy above the rest.
The first film is undoubtedly remembered for its titular scene in which protagonist Jim gets intimate in the kitchen after being told sex feels like warm apple pie. What makes this scene so hilarious is how the screen cuts to the dessert left in shredded pieces before Jim’s Dad states “we’ll just tell your mother that we ate it all”. However, the best moment comes when attractive European exchange student Nadia asks Jim for help studying. On the encouragement of Stifler, Jim sets up a webcam for all the boys to watch Nadia change (yes, this is clearly wrong, it is a fictional scene for comedic value and not condoned). To the guys’ euphoric surprise, Nadia begins to masturbate to Jim’s porn collection and Stifler suggests he walk in on her in the hope of getting some action. Nadia is responsive to this but requests Jim perform a strip tease. He then proceeds to conduct a hilarious dance to techno music as the viewers watch in both mockery and discomfort. The pinnacle comes as, when Nadia invites him on the bed, he prematurely ejaculates not once but twice. The embarrassing moment represents failed sexual encounters that are the driving force of the sex comedy genre.
American Pie 2 sees the boys rent a beach house in the summer after college. With Nadia planning to visit Jim, he goes to band camp for sex advice from Michelle. However, when he is accidentally mistaken for the mentally disabled trombone player Petey, he goes along with the mistake and attempts to perform a trombone solo, along with some unconventional moves. This is not the only unfortunate event for Jim as he later mistakes super glue for lubricant, leaving him unable to have sex with Nadia. Though the funniest moment comes when, while the guys are painting a house, they mistake the two female tenants to be a lesbian couple. When the girls realise their misunderstanding, they play along as a prank and perform sexual acts on the condition that the boys then do the same with each other in a test to see how far they will go. Jim and Finch end it when it comes to giving Stifler a handjob, though Stifler is caught up in the moment and begins unbuttoning his pants, proclaiming he is “taking one for the team” in what is arguably the funniest quote from the entire franchise.
The third film focuses on the wedding of Jim and Michelle and sees Stifler attempting to seduce Michelle’s sister Cadence by displaying a fake nice guy persona. There are an array of funny situations in the film such as the exposure at the proposal, the stripper scenario, Jim’s pubic hair ruining the wedding cake, Stifler inadvertently having sex with Jim’s grandmother believing her to be Cadence in the dark and the infamous scene when a dog eats the wedding ring but, once again, there is one moment that stands out from the rest as the most hilarious: Stifler’s dance-off at the gay bar. While on a quest to find a designer for Michelle’s wedding dress, they enter a gay bar and Stifler engages in a 80s-orientated dance battle with Bear, with some laugh-out-loud moves coming from the Stiffmeister. With an already established reputation from the first two films as well as playing the co-lead in cult classic Dude, Where’s My Car?, Seann William Scott only further cements himself as a comedy legend here.
In the fourth and final film, the guys reunite 13 years on from high school graduation. Jim and Michelle’s sex life is hindered by their son, Kevin is now married, Oz is dating a supermodel and Finch has been travelling the world, while Stifler is unhappily stuck in a retail job. We learn early on that Stifler hasn’t matured as, when a group of teens steals Oz’s girlfriend Mia’s bikini top, Stifler exacts revenge by defecating in their cooler box and destroying their jet skis. Adding further strain on Jim’s marriage is Kara, a girl who Jim used to babysit and the girlfriend of AJ, one of the teens. She is turning 18 and attempts to seduce Jim, who has to rebuke her advances. However, when she passes out, he and his friends try to sneak her back into her parents house in another comedy-filled scenario.
Whether you credit the plot, the characters, the origin of the MILF or the many hilarious moments with the film’s success, one thing is for sure: this film has stood the test of time to leave a lasting legacy as the OG of sex comedies.