We all think we grew up in the best of times. For me, I look back at just how many films aimed directly at teen audiences were getting theatrical releases during my high school years. Technically, I wasn’t old enough to see American Pie in theaters without a parent, but that never stopped me before.

In 1999, American Pie was part of a huge wave of teen classics. Alongside it were films like Varsity Blues, She’s All That, Cruel Intentions, 10 Things I Hate About You, Never Been Kissed, and the similarly themed The Wood. It felt like there was a constant stream of movies speaking directly to teenagers and the things they cared about. At the time, I wasn’t thinking much about how any of it would age. I was just enjoying what was in front of me.

Man, American Pie has not grown up well.

I know some people argue that comedy is dead because creators don’t know how to make jokes anymore without offending people. I don’t really think that’s the issue. The problem is that many of the jokes in American Pie simply don’t work in the current state of cinema, and that makes for a difficult rewatch of a film I used to absolutely love.

The first two American Pie films were once staples of my viewing diet, but age tends to bring a little more maturity and perspective. As I’ve become more comfortable with my own sexuality and reflected more on who I am, watching movies built around homophobic characters and jokes has become increasingly difficult. The high school version of me, who had no idea what was happening with his own sexuality, wasn’t bothered by a character like Stifler. Watching it now is a very different experience. He’s become much harder to sit through.

That doesn’t mean none of it works. There are still jokes that land. Parts of this are still objectively funny. Eugene Levy remains one of the great movie dads, and there are moments where you can still see why this movie connected with so many people.

But times change. A story about a group of straight white high school boys trying to lose their virginity just doesn’t hit the same way anymore.

What once felt like warm apple pie now looks more like the pie after Jim is done with it. It isn’t the clean, comforting thing you remembered. Now there’s clearly something wrong with it, and you hate yourself because some part of you still wants a slice anyway.

Nothing beats warm apple pie, after all. Sometimes nostalgia and the illusion of what once was are exactly what you need. Sometimes a trip down memory lane is enough. But the rest of the time, maybe this is one dessert that’s better left sitting on the counter.

Fresh: 8.0/10

I had a hard time gauging this, with what I feel now as a 40 year old, versus the high school equivalent of me, and the amount of times I’ve seen American Pie. It is weird for me now, but it used to not be.