THE REWATCHABLES · November 28, 2023
A 1999 comedy / romance / teen directed by Paul Weitz, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The house party and pale-ale sequence are treated as a classic comic set piece.
About 24 minLevy's awkward but heartfelt birds-and-bees speech is highlighted as a comic standout.
About 24 minFunny to the hosts but also the clearest example of the film's illegal, predatory behavior.
About 24 minThe finale is mocked as overlong, awkward, and one of the movie's worst scenes.
About 24 minThe recurring 'one time at band camp' line remains one of the movie's most famous jokes.
About 40 minJennifer Coolidge's scene is remembered as a defining comic and cultural moment.
About 40 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsIt is knowingly cartoonish and almost a parody of earlier teen movies.
Chris RyanThe movie feels more like an updated version of older sex comedies than a full parody.
Sean FennesseyIts tone reflects a late-90s social context more than a pure satire.
Bill SimmonsJennifer Coolidge and Eugene Levy are the long-term winners.
Chris RyanSean William Scott and Eugene Levy are the main winners.
Sean FennesseyThe Weitz brothers deserve credit for the movie's lasting impact.
Bill SimmonsThe webcam sequence would turn the movie into a horror story now.
Chris RyanModern reaction would be much harsher and legal consequences would follow.
Sean FennesseyThe movie survives partly because it came from a different era.
Frames it as a huge pop-cultural success and part of a late-90s high-school-movie boom.
About 8 minSays scenes run too long and the film feels clunky compared with later comedies.
About 8 minRecalls it as a social event in high school and a movie that felt made for his age group.
About 8 minFinds the scene funny because of its absurd pre-broadband setup and comic timing, even while acknowledging the illegality.
About 24 minTreats Stifler as a major comic engine and the movie's most magnetic presence.
About 8 minArgues the film is rough and amateurish but still culturally important and successful.
About 24 minCalls the opening beer-drinking scene one of the funniest and least problematic parts.
About 24 minEmphasizes that the film worked as a 1999 social event for teens before streaming and social media.
About 8 minThe episode places the movie inside a burst of high-school comedies around 1999 and contrasts it with earlier 80s sex comedies.
Opening minutesThey frame the film as a late-90s update of 80s horny teen movies and early gross-out comedies.
About 8 minThe film's internet, webcam, and e-date moments are treated as very specific to the primitive internet era.
About 16 minThey observe that Jennifer Coolidge and Eugene Levy became even bigger stars later, while several cast members peaked here or shortly after.
Opening minutesThe screenplay's working title was 'Untitled Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made for Under $10 Million That Most Readers Will Probably Hate, But I Think You Will Love.'
About 8 minIt allegedly took four tries to secure an R rating instead of NC-17.
About 56 minThe pie sex scene had different cuts in the unrated and R-rated versions.
About 8 minThe movie was shot in Southern California, including Long Beach high schools.
About 56 minThe apparent erection in the opening scene was faked with a sausage on a pencil wrapped in foil.
About 56 minThe pale ale drink was beer mixed with egg whites.
About 56 minSean William Scott reportedly made only $8,000 for the first film and later negotiated a $15 million return for a sequel.
About 32 minThe film's foreign rights were sold at Cannes before release.
About 24 minThe movie spawned four direct-to-video spinoffs.
About 56 minUsed as an example of the earlier sex-comedy lineage.
About 8 minNamed as a high-end 80s teen movie in the genre lineage.
About 8 minReferenced as an origin point for the nudity-plus-laughs formula.
About 8 minUsed to describe the sprinting, comedic energy of the Nadia webcam setup.
About 32 minMentioned as another 1999-era cultural phenomenon tied to early internet gullibility.
About 8 minCited as a later, sharper version of this kind of comedy and as a Sean William Scott role reference.
About 24 minUsed as the clearest later upgrade on the American Pie template.
About 24 minMentioned as the better vehicle for Chris Klein's same basic type of performance.
About 32 minReferenced as the show that boosted Eugene Levy's later fame.
Opening minutesReferenced as the show that made Jennifer Coolidge an even bigger star.
Opening minutesMentioned in connection with Tara Reade dating Carson Daly.
About 1:12Used as another DVD-era rewatch staple.
About 40 minNamed as the closest modern tonal descendant of the teen-comedy setup.
About 1:04The hosts joke and debate whether the movie popularized the term and how it changed pop culture.
About 40 minThe conversation drifts into personal anecdotes about attractive mothers and school culture.
About 40 minBill repeatedly mispronounces Pantoliano-style names and the group jokes through it.
About 56 min · medium confidenceThe hosts keep returning to AOL, e-date, scrambled porn, webcam technology, and late-90s clothes.
About 16 minThey treat the band-camp line as an instantly recognizable late-90s joke that spread widely.
About 40 min“What exactly does it feel like? Warm apple pie.”Opening minutes
“Guys, I've got a choir to go to.”About 32 min
“say hello to Chuck Sherman, the man”About 1:04
“This one time at band camp”About 40 min
“fucking use them”About 1:04
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before American Pie, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Sean FennesseyThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
Upvote it for the live listener ranking.
YOUR PROGRESS
Sign in with Google only when you want to save progress. The rest of the site stays public.
KEEP LISTENING
Play the episode directly from the official feed, open it on Spotify, or save it to your private Listen Later playlist.