`AMERICAN PIE' A SLICE OF TEEN LIFE, RAGING HORMONES AND ALL.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

Cross ``Porky's'' with a modern-day ``Dawson's Creek'' sensitivity, add about a quart of bodily fluids and a dash of female perspective and you've got ``American Pie,'' the heavily hyped, hormonally charged teen movie that finds new and creative uses for baked goods and musical instruments.

Naturally, everything in ``American Pie'' - the conversations, the parties, the clothes and, yes, the musical instruments and baked goods - revolves around one subject: s-e-x.

From the first scene in the movie - teen boy watching scrambled porn and getting friendly with a tube sock - the filmmakers make their randy intentions plain and clear. All that's missing is Barry White on the soundtrack, a startling omission since there are more than 30 songs included in the 95-minute movie. (Teens love music - and they love to buy soundtracks.)

Given the now-familiar carnal encounter one boy has with a warm apple pie, it would be easy to peg this movie as gross raunch-fest. But the virgin filmmaking team of director Paul Weitz, producer Chris Weitz (his brother) and screenwriter Adam Herz have sweeter - and more conventional - aspirations for their slice-of-teen-life tale. And, ultimately, it's that earnestness, along with keen eye for the way teen-agers talk and act, that make this ``Pie'' palatable.

The plot of simple enough: Four high-school seniors vow to lose their virginity by prom night. There's Jim (Jason Biggs), who develops an affinity for pie much to the dismay of his well-meaning dad (Eugene Levy, funny as always). There's the boy most likely to succeed, Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), given his long-standing relationship with his girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid). There's the shy jock, Oz (Keanu Reeves look-alike Chris Klein). And there's Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), the nerd with an aversion to the school's bathrooms.

The movie follows them on their quest, borrowing elements from ``Porky's'' and the superior ``Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' along the way. Certain cliches are upheld and celebrated. Thus, we have the sexually voracious older woman (Jennifer Coolidge), the sexually voracious foreign exchange student (Shannon Elizabeth) and the sexually voracious nerdy girl (the excellent Alyson Hannigan from TV's ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer''). Notice a theme here? Notice a fantasy here?

So, yes, ``American Pie'' salutes the lewd and crude. (Four different involuntary bodily functions are honored along the way.) That doesn't mean it isn't pretty darn funny at times. The filmmakers also never forget that behind all the adolescent bluntness and bravado lies a great deal of fear and uncertainty. This movie has poignancy - real and manufactured - in spades. It's just not always easy to see it through the cloud of gas.

THE FACTS

The film: ``American Pie'' (R; strong sexuality, nudity, crude sexual dialogue, language and drinking - all involving teens).

The stars: Jason Biggs, Jennifer Coolidge, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Chris Owen, Tara Reid, Seann W. Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Paul Weitz. Screenplay by Adam Herz. Released by Universal Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 35 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: Two and one half stars.

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Photo

Photo: Jim (Jason Biggs, right) is caught in an embarrassing situation by his parents (Molly Cheek and Eugene Levy) in ``American Pie.''