The most iconic teen comedies in history are often standalone films. Think about Mean Girls, Booksmart, Superbad, Clueless, or Ferris Bueller's Day Off. However, one movie that managed to buck that trend was American Pie, as it surprisingly became a long-running franchise.
In fact, the first installment came out in 1999 and the most recent arrived in 2020, giving it a rare shelf life of over two decades. There's even at least Rotten Tomatoes.
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (N/A; 28% Audience Score)
There are two entries in this series that don't have an official rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so they were ranked by the audience score. First up is The Book of Love, a direct-to-DVD release from 2009. Set about a decade after the original, this one saw three virgins discover the series' famous "Bible" at their high school.
What's most notable about this entry is the cast. It starred Bug Hall (Alfalfa from The Little Rascals), veteran Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction), and Beth Behrs (future 2 Broke Girls star). Plus, Eugene Levy was around, as always. The one review from a critic on RT called this movie low-rent, while some fans felt it was the worst of them all.
American Pie Presents: Beta House (N/A; 56% Audience Score)
Two years prior to the release of The Book of Love came Beta House in 2007. This one put the focus on a college setting and had a more legitimate connection to the rest of the franchise than some entries. That's because this one was centered on Erik, the youngest of the Stifler siblings.
Unlike his brothers, Erik wasn't foul-mouthed or all about sex. This installment followed a lot of college comedy tropes as Erik pledged Beta House, which his cousin was part of, and it led to all sorts of shenanigans as they competed in what is known as the Greek Games.
American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (0%)
It's difficult to pull off a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Although The Naked Mile does boast that score, it only has five total reviews to critics so it's not a huge sample size. In fact, the audience liked it much more, with 61% of their ratings being positive. This 2006 release started the story of Erik Stifler.
While in high school, Erik was given a free by his girlfriend to hook up with someone else during a weekend visit to the Beta House fraternity. While there, he competed in the naked mile run, hence the title. Again, this was viewed as being standard straight-to-DVD fare, with one review calling it pointless but entertaining.
American Pie Presents: Band Camp (17%)
After the original trilogy wrapped up, the American Pie Presents straight-to-DVD series began and that started with Band Camp in 2005. This was a good way for them to start since it followed Matt Stifler, who had been introduced as a kid in the first two films.
By this point, he was a teenager who was sent to band camp, a place famous from the series, to right his ways. In typical American Pie fashion, things got raunchy once he arrived. Reviews weren't great but the film did work as a launching pad for the career of Arielle Kebbel.
American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules (30%)
Most people probably assumed that the franchise was done after 2009's The Book of Love. Yet over a decade later, Girls' Rules arrived in surprising fashion but mostly changed up the formula, at least on the surface. For example, for the first time ever, Eugene Levy wasn't part of the cast.
The bigger alteration came in the focus being on a female character, Stephanie Stifler, cousin to the original's Steve. There were good young talents like Madison Pettis and Lizzie Broadway, as well as veterans like Danny Trejo and Danny Devito. While the new spin wasn't considered all that creative, some critics found this to be rather fun.
American Reunion (45%)
People love nostalgia, so a movie that reunited the cast from the original installments made a lot of sense in 2012. American Reunion gathered everyone from the original crew and brought them back for a high school reunion that allowed fans to see what they were up to.
Right off the bat, it was great to see everyone again. Some were in expected places, while others surprised audiences. The reviews were mixed, with many saying fans of the series would be happy but it doesn't do all that much to welcome new fans to the mix.
American Pie 2 (52%)
After the first film was such a success, a sequel was almost a guarantee. American Pie 2, released in 2001, basically took everything that worked the first time around and mostly doubled down on it. There were more laughs and wilder raunchy moments.
The gang reunited for the summer after a year of college with their relationships from the first film being tested and Jim back on the grind of trying to impress Nadia. The consensus was that it wasn't as inventive as the first but still found ways to make predictable scenarios hilarious.
American Wedding (54%)
With the first movie about high school and the second about college, the third saw the characters as adults. That meant it was time for Jim and Michelle to get married, which was the focal point of 2003's American Wedding. Critics noted that it upped the gross-out factor that would please longtime fans.
That said, this did feel different from the first two entries due to the cast changes. Chris Klein, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Owen, and Natasha Lyonne were all missing in this one, though January Jones and Fred Willard were welcome additions.
American Pie (61%)
The one that started it all still remains as the gold standard of the series in the eyes of most fans and critics. 1999's American Pie set the tone by taking the teen comedy genre and going all-in on the concept of being absurd and often disgusting, leading it to become a hit.
This film introduced now-legendary characters like Jim, his dad, Stifler, and his mom. The premise followed four best friends who made a pact to lose their virginities by their senior prom. It was praised for committing to the format and being laugh-out-loud funny.
