The Correct Order To Watch The American Pie Movies
The 1999 coming-of-age comedy "American Pie" was a massive hit when it was released in 1999. Starring a who's-who of upcoming teen talent, "American Pie" delved deeply into the more embarrassing sexual details of being an adolescent boy in the modern day. There were scenes involving bodily fluids, oral sex, and multiple references to creative masturbation. While the bulk of the film — written by Mike Herz and directed by Paul Weisz — prided itself on aggressive raunchiness, it wisely ended on a sweet note, allowing the characters to realize that despite having had sex, they still have a lot to look forward to on their journey of growing up.
For a while in the early 2000s, Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, Seann William Scott, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Natasha Lyonne were household names largely because of the "American Pie" movies. To date, the series has made $990 million.
"American Pie" gave rise to many, many sequels, some of which recalled the original's notes of sweetness, but with most of them trying to outdo the last in terms of bodily fluid humor and nudity; many of the sequels feature at least one or two semen gags. After "American Wedding" in 2003 — after the teen characters were adults — the series went straight to video and each one surrounded, for the most part, a new group of teens. Eugene Levy, who played the father of Jim (Jason Biggs) appeared in four of the five straight-to-video movies, giving the character an arc and a backstory not even hinted at in the first installment. "American Reunion" came out after four of the STV movies.
All told, there have been nine "American Pie" movies. Here they are.
The release order
Here are the "American Pie" films in order of their release:
- "American Pie" (1999)
- "American Pie 2" (2001)
- "American Wedding" (2003)
- "American Pie Presents: Band Camp" (2005)
- "American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile" (2006)
- "American Pie Presents: Beta House" (2007)
- "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love" (2009)
- "American Reunion" (2012)
- "American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules" (2020)
The films with "Presents" in the titles were the straight-to-video features, while the other four were all theatrically released. The core characters from the 1999 original returned for all the theatrical releases, although Chris Klein and Mena Suvari only appeared in the first two. As mentioned, the one linking character has been Noah Levenstein, Jim's dad, who appears as an Obi-Wan-like sage to guide the horny adolescents du jour through their respective journeys. After a while, Noah begins adding an unexpected note of maturity and dignity to these otherwise oversexualized little comedy flicks.
The Seann William Scott character, Steve Stifler, began the series as a foul-mouthed blowhard who would say anything to get laid and who operated out of a pure sense of id. As the series went on, Stifler would prove to be establishing a legacy for a gaggle of distant relatives. His little brother, Matt Stifler (Eli Marienthal), appeared in the first film, and in "Band Camp." Erik, Dwight, and Harry Stifler (John White, Steve Talley, and Christopher McDonald) appeared in both "Naked Mile" and "Beta House." Scott Stifler (John Patrick Jordan) appeared in "The Book of Love," and the main character of "Girls' Rules" was Steff Stifler (Lizzie Broadway). "Girls' Rules" is the only film not to feature Noah, nor does it contain any nudity, an oddity in this series.
Mom I'd Like to Film
Fun fact: the first "American Pie" introduced the slang term "MILF" into the pornographic lexicon. It was first defined by actor John Cho, who, at the time, was still on the rise. He was credited as "MILF Guy." Cho appeared in all four of the theatrical releases.
The theatrical "Pie" movies all have a powerful continuity, and the filmmakers have been careful to follow their characters as they grow up and face new challenges. They also endeavor to include a lot of sexual embarrassment, although it becomes less embarrassing as the characters get older; eventually, maturity has to supplant immaturity. The straight-to-video films follow their own path, and don't have as much inter-film continuity. Dwight Stifler brings things together as best he can.
"The Book of Love" was an attempt to bring the series together, as it was about the titular tome, a ragged collection of student-penned sexual advice, hidden in the school library for those unable to find said advice elsewhere. When the decades-old book was accidentally damaged, the main character sought the tome's many authors — including Noah — to re-write it for posterity. It's a sweet premise but, sadly, a dumb film. It has a scene wherein a man is assaulted by a moose.
The ultra-sexual gross-out humor of the "American Pie" movies is also shockingly out of date. If one wants a time capsule on the "gross-out" and "edgy" humor of the early 2000s, these films will serve as a perfect example. There is misogyny, brazen horniness, and so, so much semen. Horny teens of a certain age may personally recognize some of the sexual embarrassment, but more than anything, the "Pie" movies were an excuse to push the envelope. Your mileage may vary.