"Not Another Teen Movie" is Still a Classic Spoof Movie

Lately I have found myself rewatching old comedies, or as Netflix puts it, "late night comedies". I like these type of movies because they are just dumb and fun and a breeze to watch. They are usually under 90 minutes too, which is a total bonus in my book. And by "old", I am not talking Chaplin, or "Dr. Strangelove", but stuff like "Dazed and Confused" or "Orgazmo" or "Half Baked". I'm talking about late 90's and early to mid 2000's movies.

One that I recently revisited I was hesitant on because I truly like this movie, and I was certain that it was going to be problematic and not hold up. The movie is "Not Another Teen Movie". I have revisited some of the movies they spoof, like "American Pie" and "She's All That", and those movies are problematic and do not hold up. I wrote a whole thing about how truly awful "American Pie" now is, seeing it with adult eyes.

I am here to say that "Not Another Teen Movie" totally holds up. It is funny, the movies they spoof, the spoofing is perfect and it is meant to be bad because the movies they make fun of are truly awful. When I turned it on the other day, I was immediately brought back to the first time I saw it, and laughing as hard this time as the first time. It is, for me, the best spoof movie since "Airplane". None of the other spoof movies, like the whole "Scary Movie" franchise, or movies like "Date Movie" or any of those hold a candle to "Not Another Teen Movie". What "NATM" does better than any of the other recent movies like it, they got good actors who had a good time and looked like they enjoyed what they were doing. This was Chris Evans first major movie role, and he is great. He is so perfect as the jock guy that turns it around. He spoofs that character, which is so prevalent in every teen movie. But what Evans does so well, he makes the jokes, and they all land. When he is walking through the hall and everyone is throwing underwear at him, and a guy throws a pair, this could have been such a bad and mean joke, but the way Evans played it, it totally lands. Outside Evans, the rest of the cast is really good too. Chyler Leigh, as the geeky girl with glasses that suddenly becomes cute when she takes her glasses off, she is pitch perfect. Jaime Pressly as the mean girl, she was born to play that role comedically. Eric Christian Olsen as the best friend of Evans, but also his foil, this kid is so perfect for these types of roles. He is funny and goofy and seems to love doing comedy. The side characters stand out too. Mia Kirshner as Evans' sister, playing the Sarah Michelle Gellar character from "Cruel Intentions", is so funny and so disgusting, on purpose. Deon Richmond as the lone black guy, simply pure and perfect. Damn he is funny in this movie. And Eric Jungman as the best friend in love with Janey, playing the Ducky role, awesome, Ron Lester reprising his role from "Varsity Blues", but playing it for laughs, perfect, and Cody McMains as the young high schooler who just wants to hook up with a girl, he is one of the best. "NATM" just works on every single level. It makes inappropriate jokes, but it is on purpose, and it works. The way they intertwine so many different teen movies, yet still make the story work, it is one of the best. The actors are really, really solid. The direction is good. And all the inside jokes, be it from calling the high school John Hughes High School to the cheerleaders ripping off the dance moves to all the football jokes, and everything else, it just works.

I love this movie, and I am happy that it holds up. If you haven't seen it, and are looking for something light and fun, I highly recommend checking out "Not Another Teen Movie". It is really good, thank goodness. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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