The screenplay American Piewas originally written by Adam Herz and later picked up and produced by Paul Weitz to be made into a film. I will have to say, the screenplay was a lot weaker than the actual film. The plotline was basically all the same though. The screenplay tells a story of four high school boys that make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate and go off to college. We have the normal stock characters, like the jock, the nerd, the man whore, and the average kid. We follow each of them on their paths to try and succeed their goals, each seemingly going for different things. One thinks he is in love, one goes for the older ladies, and another just wants to do the sexy foreign exchange chick. There are many elements of genre that this story could fall into though. We could categorize this as a teen comedy, a romantic comedy, or even a gross out comedy. Either way, it was to be directed towards younger men who inevitably have felt this way before.
The plotlines in the film and the screenplay American Pieare very similar. The screenwriter even described the montage sequences very well, they were short written and to the point and gave the reader a clear image of what the scene was going to look like. For example, right after Kevin gives his big speech on why they all need to get laid, the montage sequence, “preparing for sex” that follows is almost word for word put into the film. The major scenes were all in order, and nothing threw me off in terms of plot when I watched the film.
The characters were definitely stronger in the film than they were in the screenplay. There were just so many characters to keep track of and it is easier to relate to a character when you can see what they look like, and how they act around others. In the screenplay, the characters were just briefly described, but not much about what they were wearing or what they were thinking or feeling. I was surprised though that all the names stayed the same; there were just too many people. The character for Jim’s dad in my mind after reading the screenplay was this skinny, lanky, elderly man who is embarrassed by his son. However, Weitz chose Eugene Levy to play the part, which is even better because he seems like the dad who wants to still be cool and able to relate to his son. One other character that was a great match was Sean William Scott as Stifler. Sean does the hot, popular, jokey guy character really well.
The setting for the story was one element of the screenplay that I thought was a little lacking. Herz did not describe the school or the lake house very much, but I guess that just gives the director more freedom to film what he envisions. In my mind, Stifler’s party house was more of a log cabin right on the lake. It was a pretty big house though and people were everywhere. The high school could have been anywhere in America, but the students were not described either in the screenplay. In the movie, they were typical, judgmental 90s kids.
One scene that was a little different when I watched it was Kevin and Vicky’s first time together. In the screenplay, it describes the moment as being really awkward between the two, and ultimately a mistake. In the movie, Tara Reid plays Vicky, and let’s face it, no one is going to believe she is a virgin. If I were the casting director, I probably would have gone with someone who looked a little bit more innocent than her.
All in all though, I preferred the film to the screenplay because it was easier to relate to the characters. The Kevin character was a lot more personable and that love story seemed to be played up more in the movie. The screenplay was good, but it could have been longer to add character and more setting descriptions.
