American Pie

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Tara Reid and the film industry know she can do a comedy for the hormone-addled set. The star of the American Pie movies is now featured in a good-natured college romp called National Lampoon's Van Wilder. But when it comes to serious roles, Hollywood and Reid seriously disagree. Reid said all she needs is the right script and right director to prove herself. She called filmmakers who do not think she can do the thespian thing stupid. "I'd love to do movies with Scorsese or Steven Soderbergh or Oliver Stone or Spielberg," she said.

First, the good news. The economic pie is growing again. Growth in the fourth quarter last year hit 3 percent on an annualized rate. February's 227,000 net new jobs marks the third month in a row of job gains well in excess of 200,000. Here's the bad news. The share of growth going to American workers is at a record low. Although the nation is now producing more goods and services than it did before the slump began in 2007, we're doing it with 6 million fewer people. Companies have been able to boost profits mainly by slashing costs.

It says a lot about the high school sex comedy "American Pie" that its producer-director team, brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, aspired to join the ranks of such dull-headed comedies as "Porky's" and "Revenge of the Nerds" when making their movie.Of course, they were also inspired by "Stripes" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," but "American Pie" is not in a league with those classics. Rather, it's an uninteresting take on a tired formula that is only occasionally funny and usually pretty gross.

Colorado@Dallas 8 p.m. [ESPN2] It's the Crush vs. the Desperadoes. Need Mr. Flip say more? He certainly hopes not, because he doesn't know anything else about this game. Reality TV Dancing with the Stars 8 p.m. [chs. 2, 7] Heavy sports involvement here: the Miami Dolphins' Jason Taylor, former tennis star Monica Seles and ex-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi. Oh, and Shannon Elizabeth. If you saw American Pie, you know she's a real sport.

Colorado@Dallas 8 p.m. [ESPN2] It's the Crush vs. the Desperadoes. Need Mr. Flip say more? He certainly hopes not, because he doesn't know anything else about this game. Reality TV Dancing with the Stars 8 p.m. [chs. 2, 7] Heavy sports involvement here: the Miami Dolphins' Jason Taylor, former tennis star Monica Seles and ex-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi. Oh, and Shannon Elizabeth. If you saw American Pie, you know she's a real sport.

They weren't even born when the movie came out, but Jason Biggs and Alicia Silverstone are catching up fast. The young actors are co-starring with Kathleen Turner in the stage adaptation of the 1967 movie The Graduate. The play makes its American premiere Thursday at the Mechanic Theatre, the first stop in a three-city tryout tour that will take it from Baltimore to Toronto to Boston before opening on Broadway in April. Directed and adapted by Terry Johnson, the production made its debut in London last year with Turner creating the role of seductive Mrs. Robinson.

Pumpkin may have been the Pilgrims' pride, but in many homes today, it just isn't Thanksgiving without pecan pie.The basic recipe -- eggs, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla and lots of pecans -- is ripe for experiment.Chocolate and bourbon come to mind as successful additions. Simply sprinkle in a few chocolate chunks along with the pecans; or, soak the nuts in bourbon for a day or so before making the pie.Golden ambrosia pecan pie combines elements of a Southern staple, ambrosia salad, with pecan pie.Classic pecan pie3 eggs3 heaping tablespoons sugar1 tablespoon flour1 cup white corn syrup1 cup pecans1 teaspoon vanillaunbaked pastry for a 9-inch pieHeat oven to 350 degrees.

That's right, they're back, the sexually obsessed guys from the last two American Pie films. Only this time, they're now young adults out of college, one of them is getting married, one of them is resolutely fighting the urge to grow up, and they're all continuing to wear out their welcome. The groom-to-be is Jim (Jason Biggs, who did untoward things with a pie in the first film), who has finally popped the question to the seemingly demure but hopelessly randy Michelle (Alyson Hannigan)

Make no mistake: "The Next Best Thing" is definitely a showcase for Madonna. Not only does she star in the film (along with Rupert Everett, who gets top billing), but she put the soundtrack album together. But even though the disc features new songs by the singer/actress, it would be wrong to say that the soundtrack to "The Next Best Thing" (Maverick 47595) is the next best thing to a new Madonna album. Anyone who was a fan of her last album, 1998's "Ray of Light," will find much to like about "The Next Best Thing."

This year's American pie is sour cherry. Diane Cordial baked the winning Ohio sour cherry pie that won the American Pie Celebration contest recently in New Orleans and took home a silver rolling pin, $7,000 worth of kitchen equipment and $3,000 in cash.Her pie, a filling of tart red cherries wrapped in a double crust, included a pastry map of Ohio inserted into the top crust, with a cherry marking Columbus -- the state capital. Ms. Cordial, 50, a registered nurse and mother of four from Powell, Ohio, has been baking pies for 40 years.

That's right, they're back, the sexually obsessed guys from the last two American Pie films. Only this time, they're now young adults out of college, one of them is getting married, one of them is resolutely fighting the urge to grow up, and they're all continuing to wear out their welcome. The groom-to-be is Jim (Jason Biggs, who did untoward things with a pie in the first film), who has finally popped the question to the seemingly demure but hopelessly randy Michelle (Alyson Hannigan)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Tara Reid and the film industry know she can do a comedy for the hormone-addled set. The star of the American Pie movies is now featured in a good-natured college romp called National Lampoon's Van Wilder. But when it comes to serious roles, Hollywood and Reid seriously disagree. Reid said all she needs is the right script and right director to prove herself. She called filmmakers who do not think she can do the thespian thing stupid. "I'd love to do movies with Scorsese or Steven Soderbergh or Oliver Stone or Spielberg," she said.

They weren't even born when the movie came out, but Jason Biggs and Alicia Silverstone are catching up fast. The young actors are co-starring with Kathleen Turner in the stage adaptation of the 1967 movie The Graduate. The play makes its American premiere Thursday at the Mechanic Theatre, the first stop in a three-city tryout tour that will take it from Baltimore to Toronto to Boston before opening on Broadway in April. Directed and adapted by Terry Johnson, the production made its debut in London last year with Turner creating the role of seductive Mrs. Robinson.

WASHINGTON -- In physics, a "unified field theory" purports to explain all fundamental relationships between elementary particles. With summer, and more "gross-out" movies, arriving, it is time for a unified field theory of contemporary vulgarity. Someday, cultural historians sifting the shards of America's fractured taste and manners will note that the late 1990s were golden years for that movie genre. In "There's Something About Mary" (1998) ... but wait. How to describe the problem of the desensitizing of America without aggravating the problem?

Make no mistake: "The Next Best Thing" is definitely a showcase for Madonna. Not only does she star in the film (along with Rupert Everett, who gets top billing), but she put the soundtrack album together. But even though the disc features new songs by the singer/actress, it would be wrong to say that the soundtrack to "The Next Best Thing" (Maverick 47595) is the next best thing to a new Madonna album. Anyone who was a fan of her last album, 1998's "Ray of Light," will find much to like about "The Next Best Thing."

It says a lot about the high school sex comedy "American Pie" that its producer-director team, brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, aspired to join the ranks of such dull-headed comedies as "Porky's" and "Revenge of the Nerds" when making their movie.Of course, they were also inspired by "Stripes" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," but "American Pie" is not in a league with those classics. Rather, it's an uninteresting take on a tired formula that is only occasionally funny and usually pretty gross.

'Wild Wild West'Music Inspired by the Motion Picture (Overbrook/Interscope 90344)'American Pie'Music from the Motion Picture (Universal 53269)It's amazing what you can learn from soundtrack albums.Studying the CD may not be the best way to learn what a movie is about -- though most include a few stills from the flick, it's impossible to infer anything about the plot from them -- but soundtracks speak volumes about a specific flick's target audience. Just look at the albums for "Wild Wild West" and "American Pie."

WASHINGTON -- In physics, a "unified field theory" purports to explain all fundamental relationships between elementary particles. With summer, and more "gross-out" movies, arriving, it is time for a unified field theory of contemporary vulgarity. Someday, cultural historians sifting the shards of America's fractured taste and manners will note that the late 1990s were golden years for that movie genre. In "There's Something About Mary" (1998) ... but wait. How to describe the problem of the desensitizing of America without aggravating the problem?

'Wild Wild West'Music Inspired by the Motion Picture (Overbrook/Interscope 90344)'American Pie'Music from the Motion Picture (Universal 53269)It's amazing what you can learn from soundtrack albums.Studying the CD may not be the best way to learn what a movie is about -- though most include a few stills from the flick, it's impossible to infer anything about the plot from them -- but soundtracks speak volumes about a specific flick's target audience. Just look at the albums for "Wild Wild West" and "American Pie."