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Media Matters
In American Pie, time and time again the girls call the shots in the bedroom: Mena Suvari's chorus-singing character sets the limits-and then expands them-with her lacrosse-playing admirer. Tara Reid's going-all-the-way-shy character decides exactly when she and her boyfriend have intercourse for the first time. Natasha Lyonne's exchange-student character makes the first moves on Jason Biggs. And Alyson Hannigan's band-geek character definitely takes the lead that ultimately allows her and her date to get some prom-night nooky. Perhaps the best girls-rule case study from that first film involves the most jaw-dropping of the match-ups. When Jennifer Coolidge's "maternal" character ends up with an inebriated boy young enough to be her son, there's no question who decides to transform the pool table into a makeshift bed. In American Wedding a similar list emerges. By my count, the film includes three sexual encounters, and each time it's the female in the pairing who is either the aggressor or the major-and in this case we're talkin' MAJOR- beneficiary. In the memorable first scene, Alyson Hannigan's character volunteers to get things going under the tablecloth, despite initial protests from her fiancé. And again in the film's equally memorable final scene, Jennifer Coolidge's character is clearly reaping the benefits of her young admirer's energy-not to mention his ability to perform under water. With this movie, the very best girls-rule example comes in the form of the groom's grandmother who goes through a dramatic upward mood shift thanks to one of those farcical mix-ups that give the film many of its most eye-popping scenes.
None of these three highly attractive performers appears in American Wedding, and yet, despite their absence, the less-than-gorgeous characters still find other less-than-gorgeous characters to arouse them. Geeks can have sex, too! Who knew? Certainly the best example of a plain-looking young woman blooming into a sexually active beauty is Alyson Hannigan's character. In the original film, Michelle was portrayed as the epitome of the high school misfit. With her ever-present flute and her tedious tales of adolescent adventures at band camp, she looked and sounded more like an awkward twelve-year-old than a teenager on the brink of womanhood. But in the opening scene of American Wedding, Michelle is depicted not only as poised and sophisticated-no flute in sight, no mention of band camp-but also as wearing makeup that highlights her delicate facial features and an outfit that emphasizes her attractive figure. What's more, as the first scene ably shows, this is a young woman who enjoys an active sex life. Nor do viewers question, as the film nears its end, that the stunning redhead is more than worthy of the elegant gown that she wears so perfectly as she walks gracefully down the aisle-every eye admiring her radiance. Indeed, Michelle's transformation from a gawky band geek in American Pie to an elegant young lady four years later in American Wedding offers wonderful reassurance to self-conscious adolescent and early-teenage girls everywhere: Yes, girls, this time will pass. Jennifer Coolidge in the role of Steve Stifler's mom does not fit so easily into the category of "geek," but in youth-oriented films where the main characters are in their teens and early twenties, anyone older than thirty is typically either a caricature or an object of ridicule. But in the recent film, as in the first one in the series, this voluptuous woman is one parent who gets her share of action. Nor is it insignificant that the particular sexual activity she participates in is definitely one that she enjoys-she is not a middle-aged woman who's defined by the pleasure she brings to men.
(Indeed, when I saw the film I am almost sure that I heard thunderous applause from the grandmothers in the theater audience.) Yet a third laudable sexual statement that the film makes is: Gays Rule! Well, OK, maybe "rule" is a stretch in light of a script that includes terms such as "ass jockey." But that demeaning reference aside, the movie offers several depictions of sexual minorities that can be seen as advancing the cause of human rights. One such image is of the woman with the remarkably deep voice who Steve Stifler meets in the gay bar that he mistakenly wanders into. Yes, yes, yes, the character is tossed in mainly to get a laugh. But still, it can be argued, and convincingly so, that the first step toward acceptance is visibility. And so any depiction of a transgendered character-and particularly one who is not a psychopathic killer (think Silence of the Lambs)-can be seen as a step forward. American Wedding includes laudable depictions of gay men, too. Even though a critic could lambaste the film for reinforcing stereotypes about effeminate dressmakers and flamboyant dancing queens, when a man is depicted as a highly sought-after professional who creates a beautiful wedding gown or succeeds in performing intricate steps that draw an admiring crowd and prompt a straight jock to struggle to rise to the same level, what's so wrong with an occasional limp wrist or ruffled shirt? (this time, think Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) But of the several depictions of gay men in this film, the most commendable may be the subtlest. For in a motion picture that is driven largely by heavy-handed high jinks and sophomoric bathroom humor, it is touching to see the dancer extraordinaire cum all-around problem solver, during the wedding reception, gesture casually to another gay man who then joins him on the dance floor as the couple quietly blends into the crowd that is celebrating the big event. As generations of human rights activists can attest, a personal act also can be a highly effective political act. Having a male-male couple joining in the merriment-not bumping and grinding but embracing and gliding-without anyone in the crowd stomping out of the room or even so much as snickering . . . perhaps that is the most significant sexual statement of the many that American Wedding sends. |
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Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan are at the center of the sexy comedy, American Wedding
Throughout three movies in the American Pie triology, Jason Biggs shows that when it comes to sex, Geeks Rule! 
In American Wedding, women are the sexual aggressors