… I opined about American Graffiti and Fast Times At Ridgemont High, as being benchmarks of teenage coming-of-age comedies. Let me further this thesis: The last truly great one is American Pie.

The reader should not confuse our subject with that other Meni Suvari flick, American Beauty, also from 1999, and an undeniable nouveau-classic, which also concerned teen “coming-of-age” – but delayed until midlife. One might also not consider this in the same pantheon as American Graffiti or Fast Times. No, we must concede American Pie to the measure of its genre, and relative to its contemporaries. One at least knows this is something different from just another ’90s teen movie, because the student body never spontaneously breaks out in a perfectly choreographed line dance. 🙂

Anyway, I could continue to opine. But, as with the last post, I hope to elicit some worthwhile reader comment.

Update: Just a note here: Googling Allison Hannigan’s name doesn’t come up with her webpage in the first ten anymore. But, three or four years back, I did some work-up on her relative to Buffy. And I found she was second only to Will Wheaton in fan accessibility.

Update II: Ok, here’s a start: Compare/contrast the characters portrayed by Natasha Lyonne to Phobe Cates, Tara Reid to Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Jason Biggs to Brian Backer.