Introduction
A comedy film in 2020, American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules was directed by Mike Elliott. It is the fifth film under the “American Pie Presents” label, and is the ninth film in the series. Released on DVD and digital, the film tries to modernize the series by putting the focus on the coming of age story of four teenage girls instead of the previously-used crude humor associated with boys.
The film is set in the well-known fictional town of East Great Falls. It provides a light and humorous look on teenage life from a girls’ perspective. Although it does not reach the levels of the original American Pie, Girls’ Rules does add a new generation of characters with new challenges. The movie, with the trademark American Pie comic tone, explores the themes of sexual discovery and consent, friendship and female empowerment.
Plot Summary
Annie, Kayla, Michelle, and Stephanie are four senior girls from East Great Falls High School. Frustrated with having no substantial romantic relationship, they decide to make a pact to rewrite their love life narratives in their final year of high school. Changing the usual boy-centered focus of the franchise, this film shifts the attention to girl power and female stories.
Annie
Madison Pettis plays the role of Annie, the group’s “innocent romantic” member. Annie’s quest for love leads her to Grant, a quiet but sweet volunteer at an animal shelter. Their love story is wholesome, but Annie’s journey depicts a struggle with overcoming her fantasies of love and the reality of intimacy.
Kayla
Piper Curda plays Kayla, who is fiery as well as bold. She is unapologetically sexual and wants to explore her romantic and sexual interests and desires. However, after she resumes relations with her ex who is in a relationship with another girl, her story turns to a chaotic spiral of jealousy, confusion, and eventual personal growth.
Michelle
Portrayed by Natasha Behnam, Michelle is both witty and quirky, and she embraces who she is with unwavering confidence. Likeable nerds and fantasy role playing – she’s determined to shed her virginity with more than just someone’s offbeat charm. Her nerdy attempts to charm her co-equals are funny and will resonate with audience in a heart warming way.
Stephanie
As Lizze Broadway plays, Stephanie is a fashionista “queen bee” who is socially a hit and has an upper hand in her bearings. She has recently split with her longtime girlfriend. She is navigating life with a self-applied fresh start lable. We follow Stephanie as she learns confidence founded on her looks may disguise a host of emotional wounds.
All teenage girls are extremely driven and the girls desperately want to self-define so the first thing they do is commiserate and tell each other the most embarrassing stories in their life. From the parties and the pranks, the awkward sex talks, and the bizarre fights we saw, many are a throwback to the American Pie series, just through a different lens.
Performances and Characters
Annie (Madison Pettis)
Pettis plays Annie and captures her essence as sweet and naive. Although Annie’s arc is less scandalous than the others, it is, undoubtedly, the film’s emotional core. Pettis’s earnestness as Annie makes her character relatable, even if sometimes, her storyline is too secure and does not add enough excitement.
Kayla (Piper Curda)
Kayla is the film’s wild card. Curda’s portrayal of the character infuses intensity, and comedic energy, showcasing the sometimes reckless vigor of a teenage girl. Curda’s balance of precise honesty and absurd humor is both captivating and entertaining.
Michelle (Natasha Behnam)
Natasha Behnam’s Michelle is distinct from the styling of the other characters with her special attractiveness. Nerdy, unapologetically blunt, and quirky, she exhibits a certain type of endearing idiosyncratic magic. Her deadpan lines, combined with a strangely excessive passion for magic, deliver some of the film’s funniest and freshest humor.
Stephanie (Lizze Broadway)
Lizze Broadway, as the glamorous Stephanie, exhibits confident poise while portraying the character. Over the course of the film, she adds emotional layers to her character’s otherwise glamorous image. Her character development from an image-obsessed to a self-aware person is predictable, but it is executed smoothly.
Grant (Darren Barnet), as the dreamy love interest, balances out the girls’ chaotic energy as the high school romantic stereotyped a quiet, yet artistic jock. Other side characters include the overtly jock like high school athletes, the insecure exes, and the overly uptight teachers with little to no actual importance to the storyline with a majority only serving as tools for humor.
Themes and Commentary
1. Reclaiming Sexual Agency
A major shift this film depicts after the previous installments of American Pie is one of enhancing female sexuality. With basic decency, the girls are not looked down upon for their desires. In fact, the film actively works to support the idea of teenage girls engaging with sexuality without being shamed.
2. Friendship over Romance
Despite that each of the girls are portrayed to have some romantic subplot, the main focus stays on their bonding. The film strongly proves that their devotion towards each other, regardless of whether they are helping each other with embarrassing adventures or with emotional meltdowns, is what showcases the value of sisterhood during the teenage years.
3. Consent and Boundaries
While using humor, the film tries to acknowledge the current social norms of respect and consent. Even though the approach is not highly sophisticated, it is miles better than the previous films in the series focused on trying to depict relationships and dialogue that is lacking in the previous films.
- Stereotypes and Tropes
Even with modern efforts, Girls’ Rules still relies heavily on genre clichés: the nerd, the virgin, the queen bee, and the bad girl. Although the characters are more developed than their archetypal labels suggest, the writing still has room to grow, as it sometimes struggles to get past a shallow level of characterization.
Direction and Style
With a reputation for having worked on other straight to video projects, Mike Elliott, the director, delivers a polished and fast-paced stylistic approach. The tone of the film is light with quickfire dialogue, and the humor, while often on the crass side, falls safely within the franchise’s limits of over-the-top teenage behavior.
Like the rest of the franchise, the film upholds a visually bright and glossy style, providing a sanitized depiction of high school reminiscent of a Disney Channel production rather than the rawness of the original American Pie. However, this shift in tone might appeal to younger viewers unacquainted with the early 2000s edginess of the series.
Reception and Criticism
Critically, American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules has received the worst kind of mixed to negative reviews. Some have attempted to praise the attempt of modernizing the franchise with a female driven narrative, while others have heavily criticized the uninspired writing, lack of originality, uneven humor, and overall unoriginality.
Divided opinions were the name of the game when it came to the originally released American Pie films, while some fans expressed appreciation for the updated perspective, others felt it missed the bite, authenticity, and heart of the earlier entries. Regardless, the film modestly appealed to viewers seeking an effortless, raunchy teen comedy that was more inclusive.
Every film has its strengths and weaknesses, and American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules is no exception. While it won’t shatter any cinematic barriers, it is commendable for the American Pie franchise as it makes an attempt to focus on female voices and issues. Girls’ Rules offers light entertainment and a few chuckles, but it does attempt to offer a commendable message of sexual confidence and friendship.
For fans of the franchise or viewers who were on the lookout for a teen comedy that offers a familiar sense of humor but through a feminine lens, Girls’ Rules is set as a flawed but still lighthearted expansion on the East Great Falls world.
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