Many of us were coming into our teenage years or were actual teenagers when 1999’s American Pie was released. The hit raunchy teen comedy struck a chord with the target audience and has gone on to become a classic of the genre. The film kicked off a movement of more raunchy movies aimed at young adults but one of the film’s stars, Seann William Scott, doesn’t think a movie like American Pie could be made now because people would be too sensitive about the film’s vulgar content.
Seann William Scott made a name for himself playing Steve Stifler in the American Pie franchise and it certainly allowed him to go on to similar roles in other films that tried to walk the line of going too far in terms of gross-out comedy. While speaking to Jakes’s Takes, Scott said he doesn’t think there is an appetite for a raunchy teen comedy like American Pie anymore and he believes it couldn’t be made today:
“You know, I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, I was like, ‘You could never make American Pie these days.’ Some of the stuff in that movie, you would get arrested and probably go to jail for a long time if you did it. I think a lot of the broader comedies, a lot of the stuff that gave me a career, I don’t see there ever being an appetite for those sort of movies again. I mean, I could be wrong. I think some of the broad comedies can be fun but people are, it feels like, myself included, appreciating more of a witty, smart humor and good writing as opposed to just something kind of over-the-top.”
The actor does have a bit of a point. It seems that in recent years there has been a growing sensitivity when it comes to comedy and people are easily triggered and offended. Back when some of these films were coming out, critics and the audience weren’t really questioning some of the more suggestive subject matter. I recently watched 1998’s Can’t Hardly Wait again and I still love it but there were a handful of jokes in it that I know would get called out if that film was released in 2022. Come to think of it, when was the last time we had a solid raunchy teen comedy that was successful at the box office? 2019’s Good Boys, which involved a bunch of foul-mouthed 6th graders, was probably the last time we had one that was a bit of a hit but they definitely don’t crank them out like they used to.
Do YOU agree that American Pie couldn’t be made today?