American Reunion
By the end, you - like the characters - will likely be ready for another slice of some Pie before another decade has passed.
If you were in high school ( as I was ) in the later ' XC / other ' 00s , American Piewas a defining slice of cinema . Not only did it mirror ( with unnerving truth ) the teenager angst surrounding sexuality and sexuality at the meter , it also show in the geological era of the R - rated , number - of - age raunch - comedy sub - literary genre - a mix of denotative humor and genuine sentiment that has been imitated again and again in films likeSuperbad , Knocked Up- or any movie that ’s even loosely relate with Judd Apatow and his pack of collaborators .
American Reunionbrings the originalPiegang back at a metre where the actors are well ( and visibly ) past their own younger age , and the world has uprise finicky about what qualifies as lineament commonness - com . It ’s also a prison term when theAmerican Piebrand has become synonymous with shoddy , verbatim - to - DVD spinoffs .
That said , doesReunionstand as a worthy addition to the franchise - or has thisPiegotten too ill-humored and stale to supply any pleasure ?
The story keeps with real - world time and consider Jim ( Jason Biggs ) , his married woman Michelle ( Alyson Hannigan ) , and friends Kevin ( Thomas Ian Nicholas ) , Oz ( Chris Klein ) , Finch ( Eddie Kaye Thomas ) and Stifler ( Seann William Scott ) all back in East Great Falls for their 13 - year high school reunification . ( Side note : if the whim of a ' 13 - year reunification ' is too upsetting or distracting , this movie is not for you . )
As the boys get back together , they find that their in high spirits school worries about getting laid and partying have been replaced with adult concern about fidelity , parenthood and careers – which does n’t halt them from once again falling into the kind of flagrant - out hijinks they experienced back in the beneficial old days . What starts out as a fortune re - gathering presently devolves into an epic weekend of prank , mishaps , sexy shenanigans - and of course , a fewPie - flavour lessons on life , passion , and growing older .
American Reunionaccomplishes what otherbelated sequels(and arguably , American Wedding ) failed to do : capture the spirit of the original , while simultaneously updating the story to bid something impudent . Co - writers / co - manager Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg ( Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay ) clearly saw the residue between comedy , lineament , and sentiment that made the originalPiework so well , and they conserve that essence inReunionwhile also let the more fluid aspect of the film ( the aged actors and modernized context ) forge around that nucleus .
This wise decision sets up a well - paced card of comedic set pieces , in which we get that familiarAmerican Pieflavor ( explicit drollery and great deal of nudity ) , from a whole new position . or else of trying to do anything ( and we do meananything ) to miss their virginity , or hook - up during the summer , we ascertain the adult versions of these characters getting down and muddy for the saki of display - up the new generation of teens , or rekindle a wane romance - or attempt to be creditworthy grownup , but not quite knowing how . Granted , for teenager viewers , the more grownup - oriented subject thing may not be as piquant ; but for us late-20s / other 30 - somethings who maturate into adulthood alongside these graphic symbol , the motion picture touches on some timely matter ( faithfulness , responsibility ) in often hilarious ways , while also offering a perfect through - line between all four films , which allows for some ' from then to now ' contemplation on what it means to grow up .
This nostalgia factor is compounded by the presence of so many familiar human face from the original film , plenty of Easter bollock that reference events in the enfranchisement ’s account , and even the subsidence of some dissonant thing - all of which declare oneself a sweet bit of extra use for longtime fans . Without mar any of the surprisal , the filmmakers have literally reach out and included just about everyAmerican Piecharacter conceivable , and they discover great way to implement them into this new fib without feeling overly - contrived , or utterly perturb . Even with a brief bit of screen time , all of the regress players get a chance to make an impression - and , hopefully , bring a smiling to fans ' human face .
The principle characters - Jim , Kevin , Oz , Finch and Stifler - are all practiced to have back on hand ; although , true , some of their respective report lines are a little shortchanged , or are n’t all that interesting . Jim and Oz have the most engaging / entertaining subplots , with Jim of track being the central focusing . Stifler , as always , is treat as something of a side grapheme ( even though , ironically enough , Seann William Scott has had the most successful career out of the bunch ) , so his story is only half of one , really . Kevin and Finch have the clunkiest and least - interesting story arcs - but then again , that was always the event with theseAmerican Piefilms , and the two graphic symbol aren’tsointeresting that we want to see more from them .
Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan in ‘American Reunion’
Dania Ramirez ( X - Men 3 ) gets shoehorn into the form as a classmate we ’ve ( handily ) never conform to , in purchase order to thrive Finch ’s plot line . While she ’s a okay actress , her character is still superfluous and unnecessary - and while she adds very little , she does n’t take away that much , either . Other pieces ofPie - brand eye - confect let in the return of Alyson Hannigan as Jim ’s married woman , Michelle ( now given more depth to work from ) ; Mena Suvari as Oz ’s ex - flame , Heather ( also given more to work with ) ; Kevin ’s high school sweetheart , Vicky ( Tara Reid , givenlessto do , thankfully);30 Rockbombshell Katrina Bowden as Oz ’s " detached - zippy " Hollywood lady friend ( she ’s hotandhilarious ) ; and Ali Cobrin as Kara , the miss next door that Jim used to babysit , now all grow up and filled out ( leading to much R - rated hilarity ) . As far as aphrodisiac noblewoman go , American Reunionis still delivering the goods .
or else of being used for cameo or peripheral laughs , Jim ’s Dad ( Eugene Levy ) and Stifler ’s mom ( Jennifer Coolidge ) are actually give something to do in this pic . Between them , the oldtimer comedic actors manage to bring some elderly wisdom and actual moments of sentiment to the storey , as they convey the bittersweet position of individual , middle - aged adults who have keep an eye on their nestling trip up and eventually mature into parents and adults themselves . A scene between the two iconic parents is both uproarious and slimly frightening , in its depiction of just how much parents lie with about their Thomas Kid .
For those who were never big devotee of theAmerican Piefranchise , I would value this moving-picture show as probably being a three - and - a - one-half star experience , based only on the quality of the comedic moments throughout the film . For anyone who is conversant with , or is a bonafide rooter of this enfranchisement , it ’s a four - whizz experience when you add the nostalgia of watching the work party back together , doing what they ( still ) do so well . By the end , you - like the characters - will likely be quick for another slice of somePiebefore another ten has passed . If that ’s not an accomplishment for a Rated - R clowning serial old enough to be a teenager , I do n’t know what is .
American Reunionis now playing in theatre . It is Rated R for rude and sexual mental object throughout , nudity , spoken communication , abbreviated drug economic consumption and teenager drink .
[ poll id=“296 " ]
For an in - depth discussion of the film by the Screen Rant squad check out ourAmerican Reunionepisode of the SR Underground podcast .
Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge in ‘American Reunion’
The fourth picture in the American Pie series catch up with the characters of thirteen years after their gamy school commencement , when they reunite for a Class of 1999 reunification .
