AMERICAN VIRGIN (2009)
Stars: Jenna Dewan, Brianne Davis, Bo Burnham, Rob Schneider | Written by Jeff Seeman | Directed by Claire Kilner
Priscilla White is a poster girl for abstinence-before-marriage, vowing to stay a virgin until she marries her high school sweetheart. But when Priscilla gets to college on a scholarship, she finds herself rooming with Naz, a party girl who’s determined to make her 7th year of school the most outrageous yet. Wanting Priscilla to fit in her new surroundings, Naz drags her kicking and screaming to all the college parties. One particularly disastrous party finds her waking up with more than just a hangover to worry about. She discovers that in her drunken debauchery, she was star performer in a jaw-dropping audition for the infamous hit cable show ‘Chicks Go Crazy’. With a permanent video record of her antics speeding their way across the country, Priscilla grabs her friends for a riotous, hilarious pursuit to reclaim the incriminating footage and her dignity before the whole country sees what she’s really got to offer.
American Pie has a lot to answer for. Since that film was released in 1999 we have had raunchy teen comedy after raunchy teen comedy – each taking the tried and tested formula of the ‘Pie’ series and adding their own spin on proceedings, and American Virgin is no different. Part American Pie, part Road Trip, the film is a familiar tale to fans of teen cinema – but where American Virgin does differ from the rest of the crowd is in it’s use of female protagonists – whilst American Pie and it’s ilk presented the raunchy antics from a male perspective, this film reverses the trend and offers a female skewed look at life.
Whilst American Virgin is promoted as starring Rob Schneider, he has little more than a cameo role as a sleazy video producer whose series “Girls Gone Crazy” is the catalyst for the wacky adventures within the film. The film’s real star is Jenna Dewan, whose previous roles include the title role in the under-rated horror flick Tamara, as well as The Grudge 2 and Step Up – you can’t quite believe she’s as virginal as she should be in the role of Priscilla but that doesn’t matter, Dewan’s likeability shines through and helps her carry the weight of the film. Much like Dewan doesn’t quite pull off the virgin role, Brianne Davis (Prom Night) struggles to convince as bad-girl Naz, however as the film progresses and her character tones down the bad-girl attitude, Davis slips comfortably into the role, managing to turn in a solid performance.
American Virgin is an affable teen comedy that sadly offers nothing genre fans haven’t seen before. But with a likeable lead and some laugh out loud moments, the film is definitely worth a watch, especially if you enjoyed American Pie or Road Trip. You can buy it now at Amazon on DVD
**(2/5)
