Granted, the comedy here is stupid-funny in the tradition of "Beavis and Butt-head" and other sex-driven products, but Weitz handles the subject with finesse. The sexually-oriented humor is in fact the movie's ace of spades, and since the Adam Herz script stays clear of gross-out territory while presenting all manners of situational comedy, it's a true gem. Four buddies, Jim (Jason Biggs), Oz (Chris Klein), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), enter a pact to lose their virginity by prom night or die (of embarrassment). Each employs his own strategy in the friendly contest, and as each has no idea what he's doing, comic screw-ups fill the screen and the script's second and third acts.

      The only problem, screenwriter Herz realizes, is that by the end you've got to decide whether or not the guys are going to get laid. Opting out might be the far more realistic choice, but just once in his debut screenplay Herz allows himself to bend the rules, landing a happy ending onto the generally feel-good film. Of course, midway through the movie this is readily apparent, so the value in the film is not so much "if they do" but "how they do."

      To keep the "how" afloat, the writer-director team of Herz and Weitz invent a side-splittingly hilarious cast of extras, from a been-there-done-that bored-with-life teen (Natasha Lyonne) and a possessive girlfriend (Tara Reid) to a nymphomaniac foreign exchange student (Shannon Elizabeth) and an inanely boring flutist (Alyson Hannigan). But in the role of the tough-guy/know-it-all, Seann William Scott takes the cake -- every minute he's on screen is pure comedic genius.

      As a truly debut product (both the director and the writer having no prior experience in their field), this is an impressive turn-out. For the most part, both manage to keep things interesting, and the only low point is the out-of-place true-love story inserted amongst the testosterone-laden screw-ups. It's quite obviously an attempt to play to the female demographic -- an unnecessary attempt at that, for in its realistic portrayal of high school life, American Pie, doesn't need to drop its guard. Likely the best comedy of the year so far, and just as likely to be the best all year long.

Craig Roush, 1999