Not Another Teen Movie

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Parody, satire, spoof, irony, marketing gimmick: with Not Another Teen Movie it matters even less than usual. Apply a carnivorously self-conscious Scary Movie mentality with a nod toward the lascivious allure of American Pie and working knowledge of the '80s John Hughes' classics (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink) and you've got Not Another Teen Movie. While it never lives up to the various reputations of its three inspirational sources, the film manages to smile and burp more effectively than most in this silly subgenre. For example, they trump Shannon Elizabeth's role in American Pie by having the foreign exchange student (named Areola) wear only a backpack as she prances about the high school, which boasts the Anthony Michael Hall cafeteria.