I watched the movie again last night. Sure, it’s not perfect (Wedding is my favourite, and then 2), and some here may think it’s too Jewish, but I still genuinely like it. Like, it’s no worse than the original Mean Girls or Superbad, and it hasn’t aged that badly. Some of the humour is still reasonably current - it’s literally where we got “MILF” from, after all!
Yet Zoomers won’t watch it (but Rocky Horror is ok, because it’s “queer”?) and the “new media” constantly calls it problematic, to the point of at least one “viral” article a year to that effect, which is just… Pathetic really. Especially since even my extremely normie, straight-laced parents had to admit that they have chuckled at it a few times…
Honestly, I just wish I had first seen the movie when I was a teen, rather than in my twenties. I probably could have done with a dose of that, growing up.
Also, prime Tara Reid, Natasha Lyonne and Shannon Elizabeth (though not Alyson Hannigan or Mena Suvari, IMHO), so there’s that, too…
The only things Rocky Horror really has going for it is Tim Curry, the music, and the audience participation aspect. It's not that great a movie otherwise.
The same goes for Animal House. It's one of those things you like as a teenager, but as a movie, it's kind of meh, and leans towards shaggy dogginess. But my generation loved it (and my cadet corps was pretty much run by John Belushi cultists.)
My only problem with American Pie is the same one I have with Donnie Darko - I kept tuning in to the same, absolute worst, most off-putting scene over and over, prompting me to change the channel and not be interested in watching the whole thing.
Adolescent humour has always ranged from "midly naughty" to "as raunchy as possible without getting an X rating like Fritz the Cat"
I think American Pie kind of gets better as it goes along. At the very least, the last half hour or so is better than the rest of the movie deserves, IMHO. And it’s not even that crude at that point. But yeah, you’re not wrong.
I personally prefer Wedding (American Pue 3), which was the first one I saw through, and I even liked 2 more than 1, so… If you wanted to ease into it somewhat, that’s an option I guess..?
More Stifler in those, so YMMV as to whether you like that or not.
And yeah, I didn’t like Animal House.
Love the Blues Brothers. But Animal House just ain’t for me.