American Pie and Daria

I was watching American Pie the other day, and was struck by the idea that there’s a lot going on there that reminds me of Daria.  Is it possible that the writers of the movie are Daria fans?  Take a look:

The character of “Chuck Sherman” (played by Chris Owen) is an absolute dead ringer for Upchuck.  Even the name is the same.  He looks like him, acts like him, he’s Upchuck made flesh and blood.  It’s too close to be a coincidence.

Other parallels take a little more imagination, but they’re there if you look for them.  Take for instance the Dad, played by Eugene Levy.  I can easily see Jake in him.  He’s utterly clueless, he always manages to say the inappropriate, and he can’t seem for the life of him to relate to his kid in any way.

Jessica (Natasha Lyonne) – the redheaded girl who helps to spread rumors about Finch.  Is it just me, or could Jane say every one of her lines?  This time there’s no physical resemblance, but the voice is similar, as is the attitude.  And, much like Jane, she’s easily brought around with the promise of cold, hard cash.

Stifler (Sean William Scott) has a definite streak of Kevin in him.  Of course, that’s mostly because they’re both stereotypical jocks.

Heather (Mina Suvari) acts like Jodie, looks like Quinn (only blonde).  I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but I started with the closest matches and I’m working my way down.

Then there’s Finch.  With the exception of his intense desire for sex, which we can attribute to his Y-Chromosome,   I see a bit of Daria there.  He’s a closed-off, private person, he’s intellectual, he’s fairly unpopular.

Then there’s Michelle (Allyson Hannigan) who, one time at band camp… but I digress.  She isn’t really like anyone on Daria, but she would just fit so well into Lawndale that I had to mention her.

Anyway, there we have it.  If nothing else, it’s proof that Daria could work very well as a live-action film, if they could only avoid being compared to American Pie.

- Mike Yamiolkoski