Remember American Pie? Of course, you do! Who could forget a movie so loaded with sophomoric laughs and likeable, memorable characters. With a young, and mostly unknown cast, the move American Pie set the box office on fire in 1999. In addition to launching a highly successful series, the movie captured the imaginations of teenagers navigating the early years of their out-of-control libidos as well as older fans recalling their younger, wilder days.
It’s hard to imagine a movie more suited to impact an adolescent movie fan than American Pie. Regardless of your age or gender, this goofy exhibition in fun probably spoke to the sixteen-year-old in all of us. Maybe it brought teenage memories rushing back to you. Or maybe it made you despair for what your younger (or older) brother was going through.
Either way, this memorable teenage romp was loved by millions. So it makes sense that there would be an audience out there hungry for another slice or two of its madcap humor. So where do you turn if you’re in search of other teen comedies like American Pie? Here’s a helpful guide to steer you to something right up your alley.
1.40 Year-old virgin
A sexually inactive man in his forties may not sound like the formula for a funny movie, but 2005’s 40 Year-old Virgin is regarded as a comedy classic by many. Comic actor Steve Carell was still a fairly new face on the scene at the time of the movie’s release, but this comedy (Combined with The Office, debuting in the same year) put him on the map.
Among the other key faces in the cast are Paul Rudd, Catherine Keener, Romany Malco and Seth Rogan. By cramming the movie with a number of brilliant comic actors, 40 year-old virgin never lets us recover from the laughter.
Like American Pie, this movie’s story revolves around the loss of the protagonist’s virginity. The difference between American Pie and 40 Year-old virgin stems from the age of main characters. American Pie centers around a bunch of teenaged boys hoping to lose their virginities before graduating from high school, while 40 year old virgin features a protagonist still struggling with his virginity loss much later in life.
Directed by Judd Apatow and featuring a cast that competently backs ups Carell’s hijinks, 40 year-old virgin takes us on a journey filled with laughs, likeable characters and even a poignant moment or two. For any fan of American Pie seeking something similar, 40 year-old virgin will not disappoint.
2. Can’t Hardly Wait
Released a year before American Pie, Can’t Hardly Wait travels a familiar path for teen sex comedies. As its title suggests, the movie deals with teenagers struggling with their burdensome virginities as they clumsily make their way through the usual obstacles presented by adolescence. Those seeking a comedy like American Pie will find much to like.
As with American Pie, the cast here (Ethan Embry, Jennifer Love Hewitt,) were mostly unknown at the time of the movie’s release. But in the years that have followed, some of them have since rocketed to huge success.
Set at a high school party on the night before graduation, the movie gives us a healthy dose of unusual characters and surprisingly strong performances.
Co-directed and co-written by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, Can’t Hardly Wait is just the movie for those in need of something like American Pie.
3.Superbad
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are perfectly cast as high school dorks in the hilarious Superbad. This movie is a lot like American Pie in many obvious ways. It mostly deals with the time-honored subject of teens hoping to rid themselves of their virginities.
But what separates Superbad from other movies of the genre is that it was written by two men who were actually teenagers themselves when their script began development. Seth Rogan and Even Goldberg were only thirteen when the project first took shape. They based the movie on their own experiences as teenagers growing up in Vancouver.
A great deal of the movie’s plot and basic tone will ring familiar to fans of American Pie. Jonah Hill is brilliantly funny as Seth, and Michael Cera is gives an equally clover performance as his best friend Evan.
Superbad won more critical praise than movies of this genre usually do, mainly on the strength of its two lead performances. If you want something that will make you laugh while travelling a path similar to American Pie, you can’t go wrong with Superbad.
4.Road Trip
Road Trip is yet another madcap comedy that revolves mostly around hormonally charged teenagers. The main plot involves a character, Josh (Played by Breckin Meyer) who enlists the help of his friends to recover a sex tape accidentally sent to his girlfriend. As we’ve come to expect with movies of this kind, lots of hijinks ensue.
Released roughly a year after American Pie, Road Trip hasn’t been as fondly remembered as others of this genre, and there’s a good chance you may have missed it the first time through.
This movie doesn’t feature as many laughs or as finely delivered performances, but if you’re a fan of movies like American Pie, and you need nothing more than lighthearted fun, Road Trip may be the movie for you. It’s far from a perfect movie, but it does feature a fine supporting cast (Seann Willam Scott, Amy Smart, Rachel Blanchard, Fred Ward, Tom Green) and a series of captivating scenes.
5.Sex Drive
This 2008 comedy differs slightly from most movies of the genre. While it is a lot like American Pie in terms of its basic tone, its focus is not on a teenager desperate to lose his virginity with anybody, but instead deals with a recent high school graduate who hopes to hook up with one young lady in particular.
After meeting a young woman he knows as ‘Ms. Tasty’ online, Ian (played by Josh Zuckerman) gives an exaggerated account of his persona, portraying himself as handsome and manly. In addition, he ‘borrows’ his arrogant big brother’s car to get there. As you may imagine, things go horribly wrong.
The obstacles Ian encounters on his way to meet the mysterious ‘Ms. Tasty’ are often hilarious and very much in the same vein as the comedy in American Pie.
6.The Girl Next Door
This movie is closer to a romantic comedy than the others on this list, but don’t despair. While its focus is more on first love than loss of virginity, it provides more than its share of belly laughs and features a tone that fans of American Pie will find familiar.
The basic story is simple: a high school senior named Matthew (Emile Hirsch) puts his previous plans on hold when a sexy young lady named Danilella (Elisha Cuthbert) moves next door. Their paths first cross when she catches him spying on her through his bedroom window. Seconds later, the doorbell rings. And that’s when things get crazy.
Daniella’s revenge for Matthew’s voyeuristic act is to take him for a drive, force him out of the car and demand that he strip. From there a weird relationship between the two is formed. Among the many odd twists is the revelation that Daniella is a porn actress.
And the surprises don’t stop there. The Girl Next Door is guaranteed to get laughs from any fan of the American Pie series. In addition to being funny, it has the kind of warmth that movies of this kind often lack.
7.Euro Trip
2004’s Euro Trip is best described as American Pie on a European vacation. Like most movies of this genre, Euro Trip begins with a sexually frustrated teenaged boy. In this case, the teenaged boy, Scott (played by Scott Mechlowicz) is frustrated after having been dumped by his girlfriend.
Now broken hearted and single, he receives an email from his German pen pal suggesting that they meet in person. But confusion over his pen pal’s name Mieke, leads to confusion over her gender. Simply put, he mistakes ‘Mieke’ for ‘Mike’ and believes he is being inappropriately hit on by a guy.
All of this confusion leads to Scott being blocked by his female pen pal, urging him to go to Germany to rectify the mistake. As you might guess, all kinds of wild sexual shenanigans ensue.
For a number of reasons, Euro Trip is just perfect for anyone seeking a movie like American Pie. There’s a pretty good chance this gem slipped past you when it first released. If it did, you may want to correct that mistake. Euro Trip, although far from perfect, has more than a few laughs and features a likeable cast. Check it out!
8.Van Wilder: Party Liaison
If you’re a fan of American Pie as well as actor Ryan Reynolds, you should enjoy Van Wilder. It’s a fun movie about a party-minded college guy who refuses to grow up. It features the kind of clever, adolescent tone that made American Pie such a hit.
The story revolves around Van Wilder (played by Ryan Reynolds) a cocky, party-minded college kid in his seventh year of higher learning. Van is not an especially motivated student. In fact, very little of his time is spent on anything related to school work of any kind. To him, the possibility of ever graduating is an afterthought.
But things get serious for Van when his father cuts off his financial support, creating a series of events that get laugh after laugh in this high-spirited comedy.
The laughs just keep coming in Van Wilder. Ryan Reynolds is both charming and funny, while a strong supporting cast gives us plenty of reasons to keep watching. Fans of American Pie would probably love Van Wilder as well.
9.Old School
To those unfamiliar with this Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell 2003 vehicle, here’s the best way to describe it: Picture the guys in American Pie all grown up, but still acting like a bunch of teenaged boys.
Through a series of mishaps and miscommunications, three friends Bernard, Mitch and Frank (played by Vince Vaughn, Like Wilson and Will Ferrell) wind up forming a fraternity that carious out a number of hazing events.
Old school is packed with laugh after laugh, and much of the laughter is similar to the kind of humor found in American Pie. If you like movies that feature big casts and lots of crazy characters engaged in out-of control situations, Old School is the movie for you.
10. Porky’s
Porky’s wasn’t the first teen sex romp, but it’s a good place to start for those seeking an eighties movie like American Pie.
Released in 1982, this adolescent sex comedy takes place in Florida, and features a bunch of high school kids on a never-ending quest for the loss of their virginities.
The group convenes at Porky’s a nightclub located in the Everglades, in hopes that they can secure the services of a prostitute. But things go very bad very quickly. The guys wind up suffering a series of humiliations. From there the movie only gets funnier and more insane. It would be easy to dismiss Porky’s and unsophisticated and racy, but that’s the point. Porky’s is the kind of laugh-out-loud unsophisticated humor that was later mimicked by several other movies. You could think of it as a blueprint for crude eighties comedies.
The cast is mostly unknown, but a handful of familiar faces pop up. Kim Catrall would later make a name for herself on HBO’s Sex and the City, and Alex Karras may be remembered for his days as an NFL star and his appearance in the comedy classic Blazing Saddles.
The other cast members ( Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson, Cyril O’Reilly) mostly disappeared after Porky’s, but if nothing else they can all say proudly say they appeared in a movie that changed the course of teenaged comedies.
Porky’s stands out today as the kind of movie that should be seen by any fan of the American Pie series. It’s easy to see how much of an influence it was on later movies, and more importantly, its funniest moments still stand up decades after its initial release. If you’re looking for movies like American Pie, you can’t go wrong with Porky’s.
