The Satire That Won’t Fade Away
From the onset of ‘Not Another Teen Movie’ (2001), audiences understood that the film was a satire. It was essentially a synopsis of the numerous rom-coms of the 1980s and 1990s, like She’s All That and American Pie. What audiences did not know, was the speed at which the movie became a time capsule of pop culture. It was a film that incredibly exaggerated various pop culture cliches, yet somehow ended up epitomizing a whole generation’s longing for a guilty pleasure.
Every satire has at least one element of truth that holds its value. In this case, the truth was captured through the character ‘Jake Wyler’ (Chris Evans). Long before his metamorphosis into ‘Captain America’, Evans started off his career as an actor with a chiseled jaw. Unlike some other high school stereotypes ‘jake’ was a parody of, was the embodiment of every teen movie ever. He had the personality of a brainless jock, simple enough, right? But the catch was that he was the total mockery of the character, at the same time. He represented the popular quarterback in high school that all girls fell head over heels for with no apparent reason, which was the only thing she was capable of.
Jake Wyler: Moreover, The Illustrious Spoof of Glory
Jake Wyler’s story is simultaneously ludicrous and predictable. The boy started as the pinnacle of John Hughes High School, where his friends wagered with him to turn the outlandishly dressed, full-blown nerd, Janey Briggs, into a prom queen. This storyline is a pillar of the movie “She’s All That”, however, while the movie took the premise seriously, “Not Another Teen Movie” used it to create a comical masterpiece.
Jake is self-centered to a fault, devoid of basic understanding of his surroundings, and the king of the foolish. However, Evans’s portrayal of him was handled with a bit of realism that made the audience think that behind the criticizing, there was a desire to achieve something genuine. The transition from a proud sportsman to a comical version of a romantic hero was replicated in the very flicks that were the target of mockery. This, alongside an arbitrary movie, was all the evidence we needed to see how ludicrous the clichés were bent in.
The much criticized part of the movie “Varsity Bluses” is exactly where the line of a plate full of strategically placed whipped cream and cherries comes from. That one scene, where Evans was smiling and parodying a formerly seductive scene, was the heros of the movie and was played again and again in the movie’s previews, and in Jay Leno’s and Conan O’Brien’s talk shows.
Chris Evans Before The Shield
Chris Evans was just 19 years old at the time of shooting and, him being an aspiring actor, little known, and keen to prove himself, he wanted to make an impression. He started at the bottom of the ladder auditioning for television shows, but his first film came in the form of Not Another Teen Movie. The reality is, in playing the character of Jake Wyler, he was not only tasked with ridiculing the stereotypical high school heartthrob, he himself was.
In the years that followed his interviews, Evans confessed he incorporated the character Jake’s over-the-top, braggadocios attitude because he understood that he was never going to be taken seriously in a film like this, in this case. He focused on the Fred’s Prinze Jr. antics, and downed records of 90s high school dramas, and even collaborated with the wardrobe department to nail Jake’s effortlessly suave styling. But in the middle of the mockery, Evans was trying to come to terms with the insistent gaze of the world surrounding him, where appearance was everything. The self-absorbed, zingy character Jake, in Evans’ eyes, provided a means to swallow the harsh reality of expectations put forward by the world in attempt to laugh at them first before they swallowed him whole.
It was this bond with reality that sharpened the edge of Jake’s performance. Evans was not simply mocking a made-up character. He was mocking the very persona that Hollywood was desperate for him to portray. It was a sly form of rebellion disguised in whipped cream and football jerseys.
When the Audience Got the Joke
Critics were split upon the film’s release. Some considered the film to be shameless and juvenile while others argued that it took a brave stance in its parody. Audience members treated it quite differently, particularly adolescents and college students. They felt that the extreme stereotypes were mocking something very real and found it quite humorous.
Jake Wyler was not a fan favorite because he was the most intricate character. He was adored because he was the most relatable. People in the 2000s could all easily identify a high school “Jake” – the handsome jock who looked like he had it all together, only to realize that his life was a swirling vortex of clichés.
Long before the era of memes, the whipped cream gag was already an emerged meme. Jake’s “silly” catchphrases were and still are the epitome of Hollywood’s portrayal of male protagonists. He became the face of that, shared and quoted around dorm parties and school cafeterias.
The Focus of Parody Part 1
Parody had it’s hey-day on the set of Not Another Teen Movie, whose actors embraced the insanity! Stories about the parodied films were common among the cast, while director Joel Gallen unleashed his improvisational vision every chance he got, trying to bathe the movie in spontaneity.
For Chris Evans, the situation was certainly a challenge. In what was supposed to be the silliest portion of the movie, he had to ‘carry’ the performance alongside pro comedians Chyler Leigh and Jaime Pressly. Crew members recollect Evans spending inordinate hours rehearsing ‘serious’ scenes, such as the prom night where determines Janey’s fate, only to be met with hysterical laughter right after the capture. Though no one would call the portrayal of the character perfect, it was the splash of earnestness and self-parody that got him the most praise.
The whipped cream scene hinged on those Evan’s poster moments, albeit with some irony. Just like the executives who were ultimately correct in predicting that it was “too ridiculous,” the aim of test audiences became a dominant chapter in defining Evans’ career, long before he transformed into the man in Marvel.
From Teen Spoof to Hollywood Heavyweight
Captain America has come a long way and a first look at his role as Jake Wyler is a parody of all the teenage heartthrobs is hard to fathom. However, the role did serve a purpose. Playing the character helped to develop his ability to parody the ridiculous Hollywood stereotypes, which became useful later in his career for the role of the Fantastic Four and for the MCU.
For his fans, Jake Wyler is not merely a fictional character. He depicts a particular period in which Chris Evans as a teenage actor used to rule in the cinema with his whipped cream and did not realize that the decade of stardom is on the way.
Watch Free Movies on MyFlixer-to.click