Extra-Special Filling
The kids of 'American Pie 2' recall the terrors of teendom
By NANCY MILLS
LOS ANGELES
It was inevitable that the sequel to 1999's "American Pie" would be titled "American Pie 2." But for the hit comedy's young cast, it could have been called "Remembrance of Things Past," since for most of them, it stirs key memories of what it was to be a teenager hungry for sex or love - or both.
The new film picks up the characters' lives a year later, after they've wrapped up their first year of college. They may no longer be virgins, but their personalities - and insecurities - haven't changed. Too bored to spend more than a few days at home, the boys decide to rent a beach house so they can chase girls. And the girls, as before, have the upper hand.
Ann Landers' readers know that the social problems that plague teenagers don't go away when they hit 21, 30 or even 45. That's what made "American Pie" so popular with older audiences, too. The sequel shows that it's possible to cope and maybe resolve an issue or two - at least until the next crisis comes along.
The 10 actors who played the kids in the original have all returned for the followup, which opens Friday. They are older, possibly wiser and definitely wealthier, and some of them are more famous.
Not one of them can claim to be a teenager anymore: Mena Suvari is married and Shannon Elizabeth is engaged. Nor does any of them claim to be a fully realized adult. This much was revealed when they crammed themselves onto two couches in Olivia Newton-John's former Malibu compound for an exclusive group session on the boundaries that separate youth from adulthood.
Same 'Pie' Mix
The cast of 'American Pie 2'
Jason Biggs, 23: Jim, easily humiliated, endearing dupe
Shannon Elizabeth, 27: Nadia, sexy Czech exchange student
Alyson Hannigan, 27: Michelle, band geek and flutist
Chris Klein, 22: Oz, good-looking jock into commitment
Natasha Lyonne, 22: Jessica, worldly wise cynic
Thomas Ian Nicholas, 21: Kevin, smooth ringleader
Tara Reid, 25: Vicky, college girl who has moved on
Seann William Scott, 24: Stifler, partying bad boy
Mena Suvari, 22: Heather, sincere, demands commitment
Eddie Kaye Thomas, 20: Finch, cool nonconformist
[This message has been edited by Warduke (edited August 05, 2001).]
DAILY NEWS: Is "American Pie 2" just a goof or does it contain truths?
THOMAS IAN NICHOLAS: It's a documentary, actually.
EDDIE KAYE THOMAS: Yes, it is true: Young men do like older women. Older women have a lot more experience. I believe the sexual prime for a female is 30? Am I right?
TARA REID: No, it's 40.
NATASHA LYONNE: It's 35.
EKT: I'm in my sexual prime right now. And if I go with a 35-year-old woman, that's pure electricity sparking. And my name's Eddie.
DN: Do the kind of incidents that occur in "American Pie" and "American Pie 2" really happen?
TIN: I think even more so. [Screenwriter] Adam [Herz] writes from his own life experiences. That's what makes these movies their own special thing.
DN: Have any of you gotten embarrassed by some of the things you've had to do on camera?
SHANNON ELIZABETH: I don't think I do anything embarrassing this time. My character is a fantasy character, the only one not based on someone that Adam knew.
EKT: It's not that embarrassing when you make $100 million either.
SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT: You know what? I think if it feels embarrassing, it's probably going to come off as being funny. All the things that felt embarrassing when we did the first one ended up working.
JASON BIGGS: I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some hesitation on the day of filming the pie scene in the first movie. But I was very excited to read the "American Pie 2" script and find I had some pretty outlandish things again. Without risk, there's no return. I figured I needed to go for it for the sake of comedy.
DN: Do teens get a bad rap in movies?
TR: I don't think our movie is just a teen movie. It's for all ages. Older people can relate to this film. They remember their own awkwardness and embarrassment when they were teenagers.
EKT: That kind of [teenage behavior] has been going on forever. I'm sure it was the same in Shakespearean times, what with all their wine-drinking.
JB: And their iambic pentameter. It was crazy.
SE: Teenagers have opportunities to do things that adults might feel are wrong or embarrassing. But I think adults do the same things.
TR: Probably worse things. With Jason's character, you see that with his father [played by Eugene Levy]. Parents can relate to that side and kids can relate to the other side.
ALYSON HANNIGAN: The only people who need to worry about the movie are Adam's parents.
DN: Do you think youth is wasted on the young?
SE: Yes. The older I get, the more I wish I could have appreciated being young when I was young. I was always thinking, "God, I can't wait till I'm 16.… Can't wait till I'm 18." Now I wish I could have just lived in that moment and appreciated everything I had as it was happening, because you can't get back to it.
TR: I totally disagree.
SE: I'm not saying it was the best time of my life.
TR: It was the toughest time of my life, but I'm glad I didn't appreciate it, because it makes me appreciate that I have so much more now. I wouldn't go back to my teenage years if someone gave me a billion dollars.
SE: I'm not saying I would go back.
TIN: I think the film shows that particular moment in time of everyone's youth, and that's maybe what people get out of it.
NL: Part of the appeal of coming back to do this was to revisit that freshness we had when we were 17 to 20 - to try to rejuvenate ourselves through acting, to become pure again in a way that we haven't been as a result of success. I think success goes hand in hand with losing little pieces of your soul.
DN: How do you think sex is likely to change as you get older?
EKT: It's supposed to get better, right?
SWS: I want more and more of it.
JB: I might have a sex change when I get older.
DN: Mena, you're the only one of this group who's married.
MENA SUVARI: Oh, yeah, so it's over.
TR: They say that married couples have better sex than unmarried couples.
TIN: They have more chance to practice.
AH: Maybe you actually make love.
TIN: Sex is a form of communication, and as I get older, I find I'm able to accept more who someone else is and just take more from my experiences.
NL: In tantric sex, when you're completely communicating, it's like you're a circle of two people. But I think that's a state that, unless you're a really soul-searching, self-aware person, you're only going only to be able to attain as you get older and achieve a level of comfort with yourself and your partner. That is the good news.
DN: Was being a teenager as much pain as it was fun?
CHRIS KLEIN: Well, see, everybody here is going to disagree with me because they all know that being a teenager was the coolest thing for me.
AH: Boys have more fun as teenagers. But guys who look like you have it easier.
NL: There's jocks and there's weirdos. A lot of weirdos end up in the [acting] business because it's a home for them. They feel comfortable, and their weirdisms are justified because they're suddenly successful. Tom Green is a perfect example. For me, high school was really painful, and I think it was equally painful for a lot of my male friends because they were always outsiders. However, I'd never take away those years of sitting around in my room listening to Jimi Hendrix and trying to find the meaning of life reading Sartre. If I wasn't that depressed as a teenager, I never would have turned out this way. I would have grown up a jock.
AH: I could not stand my teenage years. I hated being in high school. There were moments of fun, but that was when the depression lifted for a brief moment.
MS: I came out to L.A. and went to two different high schools. For me, it was just about trying to graduate and not about doing the cool thing. I never felt I could identify with anyone. I used to say "American Pie" gave me my high-school experience because I had a prom.
DN: When did you guys actually become adults?
CK: I haven't yet.
TR: I felt like I became an adult when I left New Jersey after high school and hit L.A. to do this thing called acting. It was scary, but now I'm sitting here with these fine people.
TIN: I actually feel that as I get older I become less mature. When I was younger, I was so into acting older and really thinking that I knew a lot more. As I get older, I realize I know less.
AH: I thought being an adult meant squashing the kid inside me. So I thought, "I can't be goofy. I can't be myself. I have to be this mature thing that teachers and parents expect." And I was just miserable. Once I started living by myself, the silliness and immaturity came back, and I'm so much happier. I don't think I'll ever be an adult. It s--ks.
DN: What about you, Seann?
CK: He's got a beard, for God's sake. He's there, man.
SWS: I've had a beard since sixth grade. I don't know, I think it's a never-ending, gradual experience.
MS: I always thought when I turned 18 I'd be considered an adult, or when I'm 21, I'll be an adult. I'm 22 now and a lot older, but I don't feel like I'm an adult.
TR: You're an adult in that you have responsibilities and you have to take care of yourself. We pay our bills now. But at heart, I think we're all kids and we always will be little boys and little girls.
CK: Once in a while I still use my expired college ID to get discounts at the movie theater.
TIN: I've had responsibilities of paying bills since I was 7 years old. I was helping to pay the rent. That doesn't mean I was an adult at 7. I still don't know how to balance my checkbook.
NL: I remember when I was 18, my mom dropped me off in Los Angeles to make my first movie and get on with my life. What was interesting was that I felt such constant regret from one day to the next. I mean, I regret things I did four hours ago. I'm embarrassed by my own behavior on a regular basis. I'm not sure if it's my own defect as a person or being hyperanalytical to a fault. But I do think that's something that just doesn't go away. You know you're constantly changing and you know that you know nothing. Somehow in that, you don't ever grow up.
DN: When was your last foolish fling as a teenager?
CK: I had no depressive flings. I want to stick with that theme.
JB: I was atypical. I was doing the acting in high school and was working a bit, so my social life was negatively affected. No regrets, though. I guess it would be safe to say that the apple pie sequence was my first foolish fling.
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Cool Monster Fighter
Posts: 258
Registered: Feb 2001
thanks brian!! that was actually one of the more interesting things ive read about this movie. mostly it looks so silly that i feel like i probably wouldnt like it at all... but then aly goes and says this
AH: Once I started living by myself, the silliness and immaturity came back, and I'm so much happier.
and it makes me feel so much better about myself and the fact that as i get ready to start this serious grown up job in the fall, im mostly just excited to have more money to spend on comic books.
ah, immaturity. its all good.
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As far as I can tell, they don't even bother to take their clothes off -- it's just two women sitting around Utopia, being gay.
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Strong like an Amazon
Posts: 3678
Registered: Sep 2000
Oh well, I agree with her wholeheartedly. Sometimes it's really a lot of fun to act like a kid. Ahem. Not that I ever do, you know...
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"She looked across at Willow, whose face was filled with light. She had never felt so calm and happy, and strong..." ~ Unseen: Door To Alternity
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[This message has been edited by Warduke (edited August 05, 2001).]
IP: LoggedrocketdykeCool Monster Fighter Posts: 258
Registered: Feb 2001 posted August 05, 2001 21:05
thanks brian!! that was actually one of the more interesting things ive read about this movie. mostly it looks so silly that i feel like i probably wouldnt like it at all... but then aly goes and says this
AH: Once I started living by myself, the silliness and immaturity came back, and I'm so much happier.
and it makes me feel so much better about myself and the fact that as i get ready to start this serious grown up job in the fall, im mostly just excited to have more money to spend on comic books.
ah, immaturity. its all good.
------------------
As far as I can tell, they don't even bother to take their clothes off -- it's just two women sitting around Utopia, being gay.
IP: Logged
posted August 05, 2001 21:05 thanks brian!! that was actually one of the more interesting things ive read about this movie. mostly it looks so silly that i feel like i probably wouldnt like it at all... but then aly goes and says thisAH: Once I started living by myself, the silliness and immaturity came back, and I'm so much happier.
and it makes me feel so much better about myself and the fact that as i get ready to start this serious grown up job in the fall, im mostly just excited to have more money to spend on comic books.
ah, immaturity. its all good.
------------------
As far as I can tell, they don't even bother to take their clothes off -- it's just two women sitting around Utopia, being gay.
Posts: 3678
Registered: Sep 2000 posted August 05, 2001 21:12
Oh well, I agree with her wholeheartedly. Sometimes it's really a lot of fun to act like a kid. Ahem. Not that I ever do, you know...
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"She looked across at Willow, whose face was filled with light. She had never felt so calm and happy, and strong..." ~ Unseen: Door To Alternity
IP: Logged
posted August 05, 2001 21:12 Oh well, I agree with her wholeheartedly. Sometimes it's really a lot of fun to act like a kid. Ahem. Not that I ever do, you know...------------------
"She looked across at Willow, whose face was filled with light. She had never felt so calm and happy, and strong..." ~ Unseen: Door To Alternity