The Last American Virgin came before Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Pie. And yet, the film has elements of both. Three friends trying to have sex (with two of them trying to lose their virginity) and a young, naive girl who falls in love, only to find out that she's been used.
While American Pie was funnier, this film has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. And while Fast Times made you sympathize a bit with Jennifer Jason Leigh's character, Karen is a bit more realistic.
Gary is the young, awkward teen who has eyes only for Karen. And while sex is important to him, Karen is even more so. No one else can seem to fulfill his true desire which is to find someone to love and someone to love him back. As many reviewers have already pointed out, Gary is the typical "nice guy." He doesn't take risks, and he'll do anything to win the girl of his dreams. Now, many films have the awkward nice guy eventually winning in the end. I'm sure you can count how many times on one hand of "nice guys" who've succeeded . You might be lucky to count even one.
Diane isn't the typical, popular girl, but she's certainly attractive enough, and as we well know, many girls just can't resist the "bad boy." The guy who mistreats them, uses them, and knows that--usually--the girl will always end up coming back no matter how dispicable they are.
This presents us with the two questions that have been asked for years: why don't nice guys ever win? And why do girls like guys who abuse and mistreat them?
While the movie presents these two quandries very well, you won't find any answers. Nice guys rarely take any kind of initiative. They sit back hoping that things might fall into their lap. And girls figure that any attention--even if it's bad, but shown in a seemingly affectionate way--is better than none at all.
The writer was bold enough to take us down the very realistic road. This isn't a "Hallmark" movie where everything is neatly wrapped up in the last seven minutes in some dream world. Life just doesn't work that way. And young people, who are full of hormones and confusion, tend to figure that something is better than nothing, even if that something isn't very nice. Most people will prefer the abuse to the unknown. Why else to people remain in abusive, unhealthy relationships? In short, because of many people's lack of self-esteem, anything is better than being alone. Anything. And that is the real tragedy.
Gary feels incomplete without having someone. Karen figures that someone is better than no one. And, no, "nice guys" rarely fall into that category of "someone." Without initiative, security, and confidence, they're finished before they start.
The movie is much deeper than it's typically given credit, despite its funny and a bit cliched story. Many subsequent films may have done some elements better, but this film is arguably the first to challenge teens to really think about what is important, and maybe to even have the guts to choose the road less traveled rather than the one that everyone else is walking.
While American Pie was funnier, this film has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. And while Fast Times made you sympathize a bit with Jennifer Jason Leigh's character, Karen is a bit more realistic.
Gary is the young, awkward teen who has eyes only for Karen. And while sex is important to him, Karen is even more so. No one else can seem to fulfill his true desire which is to find someone to love and someone to love him back. As many reviewers have already pointed out, Gary is the typical "nice guy." He doesn't take risks, and he'll do anything to win the girl of his dreams. Now, many films have the awkward nice guy eventually winning in the end. I'm sure you can count how many times on one hand of "nice guys" who've succeeded . You might be lucky to count even one.
Diane isn't the typical, popular girl, but she's certainly attractive enough, and as we well know, many girls just can't resist the "bad boy." The guy who mistreats them, uses them, and knows that--usually--the girl will always end up coming back no matter how dispicable they are.
This presents us with the two questions that have been asked for years: why don't nice guys ever win? And why do girls like guys who abuse and mistreat them?
While the movie presents these two quandries very well, you won't find any answers. Nice guys rarely take any kind of initiative. They sit back hoping that things might fall into their lap. And girls figure that any attention--even if it's bad, but shown in a seemingly affectionate way--is better than none at all.
The writer was bold enough to take us down the very realistic road. This isn't a "Hallmark" movie where everything is neatly wrapped up in the last seven minutes in some dream world. Life just doesn't work that way. And young people, who are full of hormones and confusion, tend to figure that something is better than nothing, even if that something isn't very nice. Most people will prefer the abuse to the unknown. Why else to people remain in abusive, unhealthy relationships? In short, because of many people's lack of self-esteem, anything is better than being alone. Anything. And that is the real tragedy.
Gary feels incomplete without having someone. Karen figures that someone is better than no one. And, no, "nice guys" rarely fall into that category of "someone." Without initiative, security, and confidence, they're finished before they start.
The movie is much deeper than it's typically given credit, despite its funny and a bit cliched story. Many subsequent films may have done some elements better, but this film is arguably the first to challenge teens to really think about what is important, and maybe to even have the guts to choose the road less traveled rather than the one that everyone else is walking.