Comedy is in an odd place right now. The culture has vastly changed in the past ten years, and there’s a blatant lack of that good ol’ fashioned raunchy comedy that once dominated the late 90s/early 2000s. With that in mind, American Pie is reportedly getting a soft reboot. There are no official details about the upcoming film other than Insecure’s Sujata Day will flesh it out. By modern standards, American Pie is deemed outdated. In fact, there are reports that Day’s take on the franchise will have a feminist spin.
Needless to say, comedy is subjective. Since no one has seen Day’s version of American Pie, there can’t be any judgments on how the reboot will turn out. However, the notion that the original American Pie is outdated isn’t quite right. How can the boundaries of comedy be pushed if there are rules on what to write? Hence, more comedies like American Pie (the original) should be created because it allows the genre to tell unique stories with a splash of humor.
1. Raunchy Comedies Help Push Boundaries
The comedy genre has existed for over a hundred years, so changes to how filmmakers approach it are bound to happen. For instance, the silent era days, with the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, have long gone out of style. When comedic style changes, it’s meant to push the limits of the genre and explore humanity in a different light. That’s what American Pie did when it first came onto the scene. It shifted pop culture by exploring the antics of a bunch of horny high school teenagers looking to lose their virginities.
Is it silly that one of the scenes has Jim having relations with an apple pie? Yes, but American Pie represented the silliness of teen comedies. Even more, it was a fun coming-of-age story about a man taking a step into adulthood. Putting boundaries on these types of comedies only limits the scope of film as a whole. Bottom line, there’s no right way to do a comedy. There are so many different styles that the genre as a whole shouldn’t be put in a box.
2. The Show Used Creative Ways To Explore Relatable Topics
American Pie was an exploration of sex and the complications of adulthood. It’s a male-centric film because it’s following the perspective of male teenagers who believe having sex would turn them into men. Not every single moment of the film is realistic. But the purpose is to make light of an issue that most young men experience. The same thing can be said about movies like Bridesmaids.
It’s a fantastic film that follows the perspective of women in a raunchy manner. There’s an insightful voice about love and friendship amid crude jokes and vulgarity. The same goes for 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Wedding Crashers, Trainwreck, and plenty of other movies like American Pie. The most memorable comedies touch on topics that showcase flawed people and examine their situations using humor.
A film like American Pie may not be the most insightful or thought-provoking film on sex. But it does open an important conversation that’s vital for teenage males. There are plenty of creative ways to tell a coming-of-age story through movies like American Pie. But the scenarios in these films may open up the horizon for the genre itself.
3. It Encouraged Fresh And Innovative Jokes
By the time the mid-2000s came, teenage sex comedies became quite formulaic. It was mostly because no one was truly pushing the boundaries beyond what American Pie established. The same thing will happen if Hollywood starts policing what’s acceptable and what’s not.
As previously mentioned, comedy is subjective. So, thinking that American Pie is out-of-touch and unfunny isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, there’s a need for diversity in the way these stories are told. Comedies tend to expose the uncomfortable truth that most people are afraid of touching on. That’s the beauty of these stories, as they soften a layer of vulnerability or awkwardness in the spirit of humor. So, it’s okay that movies like American Pie exist. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s certainly a film that helped advance the genre in a different light.
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