American Pie: Reunion

A little delayed. So I apologise.

American Pie: Reunion

I don't want to start all of these reviews by complaining about marketing changes names for international releases however this series is another one that suffers in this category. With the first two films following the typical numerical convention the third film decided to focus itself on the event of the wedding and as such was released in the states as 'American Wedding' however internationally feeling that audiences wouldn't make the connection with the first two films it was released internationally as 'American Pie: The Wedding' adding a semi colon that almost makes it feel like a spinoff from the original series rather than a true sequel. And whilst with regard to the third film this almost true as it features a greatly reduced ensemble of the original cast, carrying on this with 4th film (I'm not counting the 4 'presents' films) seems wrong as it reunites the entire core cast of the first two films.

Before watching this film I must state that I watched the original trilogy on Blu-Ray in preparation and to remind myself of the quality of the originals after the taint of the 'presents' series. Reminding myself of the antics of Jim and the gang only served to enhance my viewing experience of the new film and I will state that this is a film that does carry a fair amount of expectation to fully appreciate and understand some of the jokes it carries. Written by Jon Hurwitz, of 'Harold and Kumar' fame, it is clear that he is a fan of the originals and as such does a good job of providing plenty of references and homages that this film deserves. Allowing it's audience to reminisce along with the characters about the good old days. Along with his partner in crime from 'Harold and Kumar', Hayden Schlossberg, Hurwitz also directs the picture and the pair of them do a good job in providing a familial feeling as all of the characters are reintroduced in their modern instances and the story is set up with room to grow. The duo also stay in keeping with the previous films in terms of the movie's structure. The set pieces and regular events, embarrassing moments and Stifler's parties, are all in keeping with the film's predecessors and this is not a bad thing. By the time 'American Wedding' rolled round the formula was becoming a little stale, however after a break of nine years, although not necessarily refreshing, it definitely provides a welcome return and feels right within the setting and story.

The actors, a lot returning for their third outing in the same characters, have become comfortable in their roles and how to portray them, and I'm very pleased to say that Seann William Scott's Stifler is nowhere near as obnoxious as he was in the third film and that although still very brash he is very much the Stifler from circa American Pie 2. The absentees from 'American Wedding' Chris Klein, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari all hit their stride in ensuring their characters are remembered fondly and reinserted into the gang, even if a couple of them seem to be relegated to asides so as not to detract too much from the main story. Jason Biggs seems to be at home portraying Jim now and asserts this with an almost newfound confidence that the now more mature Jim possesses, despite his ever present neurosis.

Without spoiling any key points, the film centres on the Great East Falls Class of '99 heading to their 13th, "we missed ten years by a few", high school reunion. Jim and Michelle are married with a two year old and are suffering with lack of action in the marital bedroom. Kevin has pretty much become a housewife watching and TiVo-ing American tv shows. Oz is a famous presenter on a Sports Cast TV show in LA and recently appeared on 'Dancing with the stars'. Stifler is working at a law firm, and I use the term working loosely. And finally Finch is MIA. Needless to say they all reunite very quickly and as you can imagine chaos and life lessons ensue.

As mentioned previously in here, this is definitely a film aimed at fans of the series and as such will definitely appeal more to fans of the series. In closing if you loved the prior films this is a must see. If you fell out of love with the series following the original, give it a chance. If you hated them all. Don't bother but the soundtrack is good.

7.5 - Good