Ok, this movie was a trip. My memories of American Pie were definitely seen through the rose-colored lens of teenage nostalgia. Watching it now reveals that it doesn’t hold up. This movie is not good. It’s not the worst—though I have to admit, I’m a bit stunned by some of the things in it.

In a cultural landscape where shows like Heartstopper and Euphoria or movies like Bottoms exist, and in the same year when 10 things I hate about you was excellent, American Pie and its sole driver of “getting laid” feels, well, it kinda cock blocks itself.

Sure, I giggled a few times—there are a couple of excellent moments. Eugene Levy as Jim’s dad is nothing short of gold. Being a supportive father in the 90s, in a movie like this, would have been a hard sell. He sold it, though. Jennifer Coolidge absolutely owns her role—flawless. I also appreciated that the movie wasn’t mean-spirited. Turns out a lot of this had to do with the actors having a lot of improv and liked each other so a lot of the conversation was natural. Still, the characters weren’t out to destroy each other or anyone else. Then there’s Chris, who goes from jock to “what the hell do I do next,” and that was a nice character arc to follow.

Of course there’s the 90s obligatory gay slur in the locker room. I get it—”guys being guys,” yadda yadda. It’s just that I lived that shit. All the movies so far. All have these ‘jokes’ or snide remarks that all equate to gay=bad. I had come out the Fall of 98 and let me tell you, even though this was an era when Ellen came out on national TV, Will & Grace was one of the highest-rated shows, and Queer as Folk was making waves. Calling another dude gay because he’s found a new joy was far too common? Ugh (still is).

The rest jokes were crass, so straight, or so “teen couple” that I had no reference. Some were just gross. The pacing dragged in a lot of parts, and then there’s the infamous internet scene. You know what got me the most about that scene? I didn’t even register how bad it was until I talked with a friend about it. A girl exchange student needs to change in Jim’s room (nevermind that she could have just used the friggin bathroom). He makes a joke to his friends about streaming it online. One thing leads to another, and next thing you know, he’s setting up his webcam. As any 17-year-old today would tell you, that’s a crime. It would have been incredibly problematic even then—likely swept under the rug (as evidenced by her getting sent home the next day). There was no consent, it went out to the whole school, and it was reduced to a single line/joke.

My friend told e that scene ruined the whole movie for her. She put it best when she said, “I think scenes like that creep into our consciousness and almost trivialize it. It [becomes] just a funny scene that we didn’t really pay much mind to… or think about what that means for the woman in the scene.” Even the actress who played that role was more concerned that they used audio tech to modify her accent she worked hard on and that she wanted more pay for the subsequent movies her comment about the appropriateness is “oh I think it would have problems today”. It’s kinda wild. My friend’s insight really resonated with me. She’s rigth, and that makes me sad. It also leaves me a lot more critical and aware of the movies to come on the list.

For a movie that cost $10 million to make and raked in over $250 million, plus five spin-offs, it clearly hit some sort of nerve. I just hope we get better at calling out things that are clearly not ok, when we talk about those “great movies.”