Gen Z is watching American Pie for the first time, and they are finding major issues with the movie. The hit comedy film, released in 1999, spawned four successful sequels and grossed a total of $990 million worldwide on a combined budget of $147 million. Known for its crude, raunchy comedy, the cult series seems to be falling out of favor with today's teenagers, who believe it wouldn't work in the current cultural climate.
People have been sharing their disdain for Gen Z’s objections, with one person writing, “That’s funny. I find ‘woke teens’ extremely problematic.” Another commented, “If I don’t like something on TV or a movie, I just don’t watch it because there are probably millions of other people who enjoy it, so get over it, get a life, and grow up.” A third agreed, saying, “Who cares about their poor soft sensitive feelings!!! It’s a classic movie, absolutely hilarious!!”
This isn’t the first time the poorly aged aspects of the movie franchise have hit the headlines. Shannon Elizabeth, who played exchange student Nadia in the film, referenced a specific scene while talking to Page Six. The scene involves her character unknowingly being watched by Jim (Jason Biggs), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) as she gets undressed. Unfortunately for Nadia, the video is then accidentally broadcast to her entire school. After the video is shared, Nadia is sent home to the Czech Republic, while the boys who were filming her receive no punishment.
Discussing the scene, Elizabeth said, “If this had come out after the #MeToo movement, there would definitely be a problem. I think that it would have gone down differently.” She also explained that the scene was awkward for her as she was still new to the film industry. Elizabeth recalled, “It was a closed set and it was just me in this room and the boom guy above me. That’s the main thing I remember, just me and the boom guy, and trying to make jokes with the directors and make light of it because if I wasn’t nervous maybe they wouldn’t be so nervous… I just tried to make it no big deal.”
Elizabeth is not the only actor from American Pie to claim that the movie would struggle to be made if it came out today. Seann William Scott, who played the iconic character Stifler in the series, said the jokes from that film could get you “arrested” and “sent to jail.” In an interview with Jake’s Takes, he explained, “You know, I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, I was like, ‘You could never make American Pie these days.’” He continued, “Some of the stuff in that movie, you would get arrested and probably go to jail for a long time if you did it. I think a lot of the broader comedies, a lot of the stuff that gave me a career, I don’t see there ever being an appetite for those sort of movies again. I mean, I could be wrong. It feels like people, myself included, appreciate more of a witty, smart humor and good writing as opposed to just something kind of over-the-top.”
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It seems as though the youth of today agree with these American Pie stars. In March 2020, Vice conducted an experiment to gauge Gen Z teenagers’ opinions on nostalgic movies, including American Pie. The responses from participants aged between 16 and 19 revealed a generational divide in perceptions of the film. Taylor, 16, expressed skepticism about the film’s portrayal of relationships: “I don’t know if that was realistic when the film came out, but I think men treat women with a lot more respect and equality now.” Olivia, 18, offered a harsher critique, stating, “It’s bordering on incel attitudes. I think if you were a teenage boy watching this you’d basically feel entitled to behave however you wanted to towards women.”
Hannah, 17, pointed out a specific scene as problematic: “The part where Jim and the other male characters film the foreign exchange student in his room is deeply problematic. The film doesn’t even question the morality of doing this, it makes it seem like a joke and that the dudes are all ‘legends’ for getting the plan to work. It’s a huge violation of privacy and definitely a sexual offense for Jim to film her, let alone to then share that with his friends. There’s no way a teen film made now would allow it.”
