Compared to the In-betweeners

I had just finished watching American Pie after a few episodes of the In-betweeners and I was so struck by how different they are despite their use of embarrassing teen situations.

The In-beetweeners is by far the more realistic depiction of teens striving to make it with girls. The teens exhibit crude and objectionable attitudes and behaviour, while their embarrassing situations and raw desperation are painful, hilarious, and sometimes sad to watch. Also, their bickering and childish mocking of each other felt right on the money, making the moments were they show friendship and compassion towards each other feel real and touching.

Then I watched American Pie...

Damn it felt like a sanitized Hollywood fantasy in comparison and extremely corny, even embarrassing, like the moments with the choir and Chris Klein intoning that music comes from the heart as well as his entire cheesy performance and courtship with Mena Suvari. The relationship between Ian Nicholas and Tara Reid wasn’t much better. The final diner scene was very schmaltzy, and the pact making scene felt juvenile and unimportant - possibly due to an adult watching.
There was also a moralistic American feel. It could almost have been the most conservative teen comedy ever made if the couplings at the end only involved those who had fallen in love. Luckily, they were still aiming for comedy via Stifler's Mom and Biggs getting used by Hanningan and thinking it's cool.

Overall, American Pie ain't bad but unlike other teen comedies such as Fast Times and the Breakfast Club, enjoyment seems to diminish with age. I'm wondering if today's teens would have enjoyed it as much as we apparently did.