American Pie Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I know the demographic who watches all of the American Pie Presents films is quite narrow, but when I came across the trailer for American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, I had to step back and give them a bit of a golf clap. Who would have ever thought that a little high school sex comedy from 1999 would go on to spawn two theatrical sequels and four straight-to-video titles? Were there any among us who saw Jason Biggs get intimate with an apple pie and thought, "My God, there needs to be seven of these movies"?

Yet here we are with the trailer for The Book of Love, the seventh entrant to the canon of Pie. And in case you're not a die hard fan of the last three films, they were a trip to Band Camp, a lap running The Naked Mile, and a Beta House whose crowning accomplishment was playing a game of rugby against some aggressive midgets. While the makers of those all found various tie-ins to the original films, mainly through the lineage of Stiffler, the biggest thread tying the franchise together has been Eugene Levy, and Book of Love shows no intention of letting him out of his seemingly eternal contract as Jim's Dad.

This time around, the male populace of East Great Falls High have once again stumbled upon the Bible hidden in the school's library, which you'll recall is the sex guide Casey Affleck gifted to the gentlemen of the first film. Only the book gets ruined in a freak accident, causing the amorous youngsters to track down the Bible's original creator in an attempt to recreate all of the sexual secrets contained therein.

Note: as should be expected from a sex comedy, the following trailer is not work place friendly:

Back in October, rumors were swirling that the American Pie series was going to make a triumphant return to theaters after finding so much success in the direct-to-DVD market. While that doesn't seem to be happening just yet, we've got one better for you: According to Moviehole, Tara Reid will reprise her role as Vicki Lathum in the next bargain-bin sequel, currently titled American Pie: Skank Patrol! I kid, of course, they're calling this installment American Pie: Book of Love, and it apparently follows a group of kids who discover the so-called "sex-bible" from the original film in their school library and set out on a quest to lose their virginity. Reid appeared as Vicki in the first two American Pie films, and will join Eugene Levy as the only other original cast member still munchin' on that tasty pie.

Also returning to the series after a fairly long hiatus is screenwriter David H. Steinberg, who penned American Pie 2. Bug Hall, Kevin M. Horton and YouTube sensation Brandon Hardesty star, with John Putch directing. In the original American Pie, which is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year, Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) uses the sex-bible on Vicki, which could be how she ties in to this latest adventure. Either that or they'll be more literal about it and simply have her play a character who's searching for a way to pay next month's rent.

I can think of at least three movies in the coming two weeks that feature scenes that are strikingly out of tone with the film they're a respective part of and yet seemingly included as a means of getting people to tell their loved ones how ridiculous Bit X in Movie Y is. And so today's Cinematical Seven list will be an arbitrary, far from ultimate compilation of the most distractingly disgusting and supremely superfluous parts in recent movies. Sure, most of these are comedies, and yes, most of them seem to have been released from the year 2000 on, and as always, we welcome your comments below. Just make sure they're not too gross.

(Speaking of which, NSFW clips follow after the jump.)

(With Valentine's Day arriving this week, we though we'd dig up some of our old romantic favorites and mix them in with some new stuff. Enjoy.)

By: Christopher Campbell

If you've ever had a bad first date -- and in the age of internet match-ups, it's all the more likely you've had at least a disappointing one -- you're not alone. Thanks to the awkwardness of getting to know somebody, and the nervousness that comes with that, it's a wonder any of us ever have good first dates. But as much as we end up fixating on the failure of a single bad date, we must remember that it's a part of life and has been since the dawn of man, when Adam had to deal with Eve ordering the forbidden item on the menu. Also, we must realize that it's all relative and there's always a worse date out there than the worst we've ever had. Often (and especially because it's Valentine's Day this Saturday), it's a good idea to look to the movies, and compare our worst first date to the worst first dates in cinema:


License to Drive (1988)

Imagine you're all set to get your driver's license, and the hottest girl in school has agreed to go out with you the night you pass the exam. But you don't pass the exam. Then you steal your grandpa's car. Then your date drinks too much and passes out for the rest of the night. Oh, and it only gets worse from there. License to Drive is just one of many films that shows us that a first date can be a crazy mix of Murphy's Law and the snowball effect. Also, like many comedies, it teaches us that an automobile can be destroyed many times over, and that it might be best if our first time driving, as well as our first time dating, be with a car that has little value.

With filthy, foul-mouthed R-rated comedy making a huge comeback (thanks, in part, to the success of Judd Apatow's films) coupled with the fact that the original cast of American Pie aren't exactly A-listin' it up on the big screen lately -- well, it doesn't take a brainiac to imagine some folks might want to revive the popular teen sex comedy franchise and stick a new one in theaters. Seeing as the direct-to-DVD installments featuring Eugene Levy all did well for Universal, now might be the perfect time to reunite this cast -- all of whom could probably use the extra paycheck (ahem, we're looking at you Tara Reid).

According to Moviehole, that's exactly what Universal is looking to do. Though no one has officially joined the cast (I think it's easy to say Eugene Levy would do it for a credit and a gift certificate to the Olive Garden), but the site claims things are inching along and an announcement could be made soon-ish. One imagines any sort of theatrical sequel would revolve around the married lives of Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and perhaps they'll tap in to the recent big-screen pregnancy boom and churn out something like American Baby ... or whatever.

What do you think? Is there room for another big-screen American Pie film? Would you see it?

If you've ever had a bad first date -- and in the age of internet match-ups, it's all the more likely you've had at least a disappointing one -- you're not alone. Thanks to the awkwardness of getting to know somebody, and the nervousness that comes with that, it's a wonder any of us ever have good first dates. But as much as we end up fixating on the failure of a single bad date, we must remember that it's a part of life and has been since the dawn of man, when Adam had to deal with Eve ordering the forbidden item on the menu. Also, we must realize that it's all relative and there's always a worse date out there than the worst we've ever had. Often (and especially because it's Valentine's Day this Thursday), it's a good idea to look to the movies, and compare our worst first date to the worst first dates in cinema:


License to Drive (1988)

Imagine you're all set to get your driver's license, and the hottest girl in school has agreed to go out with you the night you pass the exam. But you don't pass the exam. Then you steal your grandpa's car. Then your date drinks too much and passes out for the rest of the night. Oh, and it only gets worse from there. License to Drive is just one of many films that shows us that a first date can be a crazy mix of Murphy's Law and the snowball effect. Also, like many comedies, it teaches us that an automobile can be destroyed many times over, and that it might be best if our first time driving, as well as our first time dating, be with a car that has little value.

The ever-enthusiastic Pete Hammond of Maxim says the following about American Pie Presents Beta House:

"...may be the most outrageous slice of pie yet!"

Ahem. With all due respect to Mr. Hammond (who also called Wild Hogs "hysterically funny" and Evan Almighty "a great time at the movies"), I think a more appropriate (or at least honest) quote for the DVD cover might be:

"Slightly more amusing to sit through than the two previous entries, but really ... that's not much of a compliment."

Strange but true, schlock-lovers, but after suffering through the ceaseless miseries of American Pie Presents Band Camp and American Pie Presents The Naked Mile, I was obviously expecting the worst from American Pie Presents Beta House. And I don't think that's me being unfair, really. (One need only get smacked in the face with cow shit twice before one gets a little skittish around cows.) So I popped the disc in, all smug and superior, and ... what the hell? A few early chuckles? (Thanks mainly to a profane cameo appearance by Christopher McDonald, but still.) The connection to American Pie, American Pie 2 and American Wedding is this: Eugene Levy shows up (once again) to wiggle his wacky eyebrows and earn a quick check.

Beta House takes a few listless jabs at what could charitably be termed "plot threads," but really the movie's nothing more than a barely-connected series of set-pieces that are obsessed with one of two things: Female breasts and male semen. (Not to be overtly vulgar, but I've seen hardcore porn with less hooters and "money shots" than are found in Beta House. Now THERE'S a blurb for the DVD cover!) When the movie's not pandering to your basic lust for nipples and/or bodily excretions, it's ostensibly about a group of college freshmen (one of whom is named Stifler) who aim to pledge a frat. Yeah, that's it. But there's a small silver lining to be found buried beneath all the sophomoric silliness, frequent expulsions of vomit, and head-slap-obvious "man juice" jokes...

His latest movie, Sydney White, only debuted in the number six spot at the box office over the weekend, but Joe Nussbaum already has his next movie lined up. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the director will helm B.F.F., which was written by Sydney scribe Chad Creasey and his wife, Sydney co-producer Dara Resnik Creasey. The plot involves a boy and girl who meet in high school, become "B.F.F." (best friends forever) and eventually fall in love. Sounds like another sweet teen movie, right? Well, yes, it sounds like that, but apparently the movie, which could be nicknamed "Four Proms and a Funeral" based on THR's given synopsis, will be intended as an R-rated comedy in the tradition of American Pie and, of course, Superbad. In the career of Nussbaum, this does make some sense. After making his Hollywood debut with the innocent teen movie Sleepover, he made the DTV sequel American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile. Then he came back with the innocent with Sydney White and now is going raunchy again. It could be a pattern. We'll see, though I'm not sure where his breakout short spoof George Lucas in Love would fit in.

More than anything, B.F.F. reminds me of Whatever It Takes, which I only found funny because James Franco played a character with my name. I guess that wasn't the first or only movie to be about co-ed best friends who finally fall in love, but I guess B.F.F.'s prom thing made me think of WIT's own It's a Wonderful Life-ripped-off prom dance scene. Anyway, if Nussbaum can cross that movie with Superbad, it might not be so terrible. Okay, yeah, it will probably be really awful. But I bet it will make more money than Sydney White, which has so far taken home just over $5 million, which is still better than Sleepover's opening gross of just over $4 million.

All this writing about sex, and I'm going to need a cold shower ... or two. Nothing makes a movie more memorable than a fantastic sex scene. If Jim hadn't tried to stick his "down there pal" into a pie, would American Pie be the classic that it is today? Would Brokeback Mountain still have been a major Oscar contender had Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger not attacked one another like a couple of wild (and horny) animals? Heck, Halle Berry chose the right script and the right time to let her guard down and roll around on a couch with Billy Bob Thornton -- and what did it get her? Yup, her first Oscar. And I can't be the only one to immediately think of the film Wild Things when I hear the names Neve Campbell and Denise Richards.

Let's face it -- sex sells. And sex also helps a mediocre film become one that's talked about for years on end. That said, those devious folks over at Moviefone have compiled a list of what they feel are the 25 Best Sex Scenes of All Time. All of the above aforementioned films are included (although I would've placed Monster's Ball ahead of the puppet sex featured in Team America: World Police), as well as more of our most favorite (and most heated, steamy -- orgasmic?) scenes and films like Bound (lesbian sex), Secretary (work sex), Unfaithful (adulterous sex), Boogie Nights (porn star sex) and the always-enjoyable Y Tu Mama Tambien (foreign-language sex). So take a look at their list, then come (hehe) back here and let us know which ones flow and which, well, blow.

Since I lost track of these weak, straight-to-DVD American Pie sequels at some point after the fourth installment, I'm kind of going at this with a blind eye. Apparently, a direct sequel to last year's American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile is already in the works (making it the sixth Pie-related film to hit the streets), with pre-production taking place in Toronto as we speak. American Pie Presents: Beta House will feature the same four dudes (John White, Ross Thomas, Jake Siegel and Steve Talley) from Naked Mile, only this time they're all grown up and heading to college. Beta House? College? Hmm, I smell a frat-related teen sex comedy heading our way.

In fact, that's exactly what happens. Pic centers on Erik Stifler and his cousin Dwight Stifler (who, I imagine, are both cousins of the original Steve Stifler). Upon entering college, Erik (apart from his name ending in a 'K,' sadly, the two of us have nothing in common) joins the Beta House, lands a girlfriend and goes to war against the evil GEK house who -- you guessed it -- are out to destroy the weaker frats with their money, brains and guys named Bret. Right now, casting is underway for Erik's main squeeze Ashley. Moviehole describes her as being "super cute, confident, together, instantly comfortable in the new collegiate surroundings, she is a catch." Basically, she's every girl that wouldn't date you in college. Andrew Walker will direct, with Joel Soisson and Keith Birder producing. No word on whether Eugene Levy will once again make his "purely for the money" cameo. Anyone out there actually watch The Naked Mile? Is it any good? Are these American Pie Presents flicks worth a spot on my Netflix queue?