Who would have known that Seann William Scott could pull off such a fine performance in a dramatic film with a comedic overtone? When I purchased American Loser I assumed I was purchasing just another stereo-typical Seann William Scott comedy role. Much to my pleasant surprise I discovered (as will you if you watch this film) Seann was portraying a real life troubled young man named Jeff Nichols, who did in fact suffer from a number of abnormalities including an attention deficit disorder, early alcoholism, Tourette's syndrome, and a learning disorder. I assume the writers took liberties with some of the characters in the film such as the sweet and lovable married girlfriend named Lynn (played by Gretchen Mol) that Jeff Nichols hooks up with at one of his AAA sessions. Jeff also meets up with a guy named Lenny at the AAA sessions, played well by Jeff Garlin, who is a recovering alcoholic and construction manager. Lenny looks up to Jeff (from one loser to a bigger loser) and so they are seen periodically hanging out together having coffee and discussing how to get out of their individual predicaments.Jeff Nichols had always depended upon his "mommy" Cynthia, played by Deirdre O'Connell and his stepfather Mike, played by Denis O'Hare, to bail him out with sufficient cash whenever he fell behind with any of his bills. He tried his hand at various jobs such as a substitute Grade 3 teacher but could not handle a class full of kids without getting in to trouble with the principal and losing his job. Jeff just seemed to be travelling through his depressed and troubled life falling further and further in to disarray. It won't take you very long to realize Seann William Scott's portrayal of Jeff Nichols isn't funny at all, and that's because it is not intended to be funny. This is a story of a young man with some serious troubles, real troubles, that even a loving girlfriend and parents can't help Jeff overcome. Of course there is some humor in the casualties Jeff causes as when he finishes having wonderful intercourse with his girlfriend Lynn, and leaves her a little memento on the bed sheets. There are numerous loser scenes that have some comedic value such as when he sinks his stepfather's expensive boat, or signs up for a month long job on a commercial fishing boat wearing nothing more than a Christmas sweater, or when he literally burns his parent's beautiful home down to the ground.Although these aforementioned scenes may be somewhat funny, each scene brings us closer to realizing a great empathy for the real life Jeff Nichols, who actually lived through the movie ordeal. I do not want to give away the ending so I will close by saying that at some point Jeff realizes that he has to take responsibility for his own life and not depend upon mommy and daddy anymore. Don't stop the DVD at the end credits or you will miss the cameo appearance of the real life Jeff Nichols in his current job. This was a terrific dramatic real life role for Seann William Scott to sink his teeth in to. I truly enjoyed seeing him play out of character that as his usual dim witted comedic roles he has previously starred in. I was pleasantly surprised at how well Gretchen Mol and Seann William Scott carried this drama comedy through to fruition. I gave it a 7 out of 10 rating.

I have to be honest, I really wasn't expecting much out of this film, I mean, Stiffler in a serious role? but wow was I pleasantly surprised, pleased as punch I would almost say. A truly heartfelt film, you get the sense the writer/director genuinely felt for his subject, which from what I have read about this film is really based on a true story which makes it even more funny in my opinion. The stuff in this movie is so funny it could not have been made up! Really well done with the writing and directing and I think it was the writer/directors debut film? which to me is even more impressive. Some of the scenes had me rolling on the floor with laughter, all in all well worth seeing, great, original and heartfelt, I really look forward to seeing more from this writer/director and I heard a rumor he plays the banjo!

The movie directors made the viewer feel as if they identified with the main character's audience. It starts off in a comedy club and ends with it. The entire movie showcases and plays out his escapades, or rather errors and flaws, his "f" ups and how he perpetually turns to his mommy. It's constantly because of his inattention to detail and his constant desire to be heard and blabbering, that leads him to an inability to decide what is right for him. He can't even decide whether a yellow or white t shirt is better. He has endless idiosyncrasies, which include hating the word "balance," and they all make the audience, including his peers in all his AA meetings laugh. The ironic thing is he's a mentor to another b/c he's been sober for 10 years, and in the end, he's the one that is mentored. The movie comes full circle in the end, but I have to admit there will be times where you'll ask yourself, OMG, how could he do that? How could he possibly "f" that up? And watching the entire movie knowing that it was largely based upon real events from a real person, made me an array of different emotions that made this movie extremely enjoyable.

I did not believe that this movie is based on a true story till credits started to roll. Sean Scott, "stifler" from the American pie movies has been doing same old college humor based films for which he is been stereotyped into. But this is so him yet not so him. He has taken little of all the characters he plays in his film and made this wonderful character which although you find it funny at times, you start feeling sad, cause he just cant seem to get it right. He channels all his screw ups by sharing them with others making them laugh at them. A good change, yet not totally different, from Sean Scott. Keep up the good work "Stifler"!