Gen Z is experiencing “American Pie” for the first time and is encountering significant issues with the film.
The popular comedy film was released in 1999 and spawned four successful sequels.
As a franchise, “American Pie” earned a total of $990 million worldwide against a combined budget of $147 million.
The cult series is famous for its crude, raunchy humor, but it seems that today’s teenagers don’t believe it would be successful if released now.
People have been expressing their disdain for Gen Z’s criticisms, with one commenter writing, “That’s amusing. I find ‘woke teens’ to be extremely problematic.”
Another person commented, “If I don’t like something on TV or in a movie, I simply don’t watch it. There are likely millions of others who enjoy it, so just move on, get a life, and grow up.”
A third person agrees, saying, “Who cares about their overly sensitive feelings?! It’s a classic movie and absolutely hilarious!”
This isn’t the first time the outdated elements of the movie franchise have made headlines.
Shannon Elizabeth, who portrayed exchange student Nadia in the film, referenced a specific scene while speaking with Page Six.
The scene in question features her character unknowingly being watched by Jim (Jason Biggs), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) while she is getting undressed.
Unfortunately for Nadia, the video is accidentally broadcast to her entire school.
After the video is shared, Nadia is sent back to the Czech Republic, while the boys who filmed her face no consequences.
Discussing the scene, the actress said, “If this had come out after the #MeToo movement, there would definitely be a problem.”
“I think it would have played out differently.”
She also explains that the scene was particularly awkward for her since she was still new to the film industry at the time.
Elizabeth recalls, “It was a closed set, and it was just me in the room with the boom guy above me.”
“That’s the main thing I remember—just me and the boom guy. I tried to make jokes with the directors and lighten the mood because I thought if I wasn’t nervous, maybe they wouldn’t be so nervous either… I just tried to make it seem like no big deal.”
Elizabeth isn’t the only actor from “American Pie” to suggest that the movie would face difficulties if it were released today.
Seann William Scott, who portrayed the iconic character Stifler in the series, remarked that the jokes from the film could get someone ‘arrested’ and ‘sent to jail.’
In an interview with Jake’s Takes, he explained, “I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and said, ‘You could never make American Pie these days.’”
He goes on to say, “Certain things in that movie would land you in jail for a long time if you tried them in real life.”
“I don’t think there will ever be the same demand for the kind of broad comedies that really launched my career.”
“I could be wrong, but it seems like people, myself included, now value witty, smart humor and good writing more than just something that’s over-the-top.”
It looks like today’s youth share the same sentiment as the stars of American Pie.
In March 2020, Vice ran an experiment to find out what Gen Z teenagers thought about nostalgic films, including American Pie.
The feedback from participants aged 16 to 19 highlighted a generational divide in how the film was perceived.
Taylor, 16, expressed doubts about the film’s depiction of relationships: “I’m not sure if it was ever realistic, but I think men treat women with much more respect and equality now.”
Olivia, 18, gave a more critical view, saying: “It’s almost like incel attitudes. If you were a teenage boy watching this, you’d likely feel entitled to act however you wanted towards women.”
Hannah, 17, highlighted a specific scene as troubling: “The part where Jim and the other guys film the foreign exchange student in his room is deeply problematic. The film doesn’t question the morality of this act at all; instead, it treats it like a joke and makes the guys look like ‘legends’ for pulling it off.”
“It’s a massive invasion of privacy and absolutely a sexual offense for Jim to film her, especially to then share it with his friends. There’s no way a teen film made today would include something like that.”
