American Pie debuted in 1999 along with Blink-182’s third album Enema of the State and the third season of South Park. It was a different time back then and male high school sex comedy quickly ascended to the pantheon of raunchy, outrageous and forbidden content that was immediately gobbled up and then regurgitated repeatedly.
Millennials grew up on the American Pie series which resulted in three sequels, and an array of direct-to-video spinoff movies.
However, Netflix’s feminist American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules hopes to change that as a gender-flipped reimagining of the 1999 film, which starred Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Eddie Kay Thomas and Thomas Ian Nicholas as four nerdy-to-average white Michigan teen boys who make a pact to lose their virginity before graduating high school.
Twenty-one years later, viewers will see a racially diverse and sexually disappointed teen girls at East Great Falls High make a different pact at the beginning of their senior year: They vow to finally to go after what they want in life.
The Koalition spoke to actress Natasha Behnam who shines as Michelle, the independent feminist of the friend group who suddenly unravels when a new student (Darren Barnet) joins the school. Making her feature film début, Behnam is a rising stare determined to carve out her own path in Hollywood by using her unique perspective as a Persian-American to bring diverse stories to life, bringing humor to the depth of the human condition and exploring the theme of genuine human connection through nuanced, comedic relationships.
American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules will release on Netflix on October 6th.
Check out our interview below.
