American Reunion

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

13 years after graduating high school, Jim (Jason Biggs), Oz (Chris Klein), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Stifler (Seann William Scott) have gone their separate ways. Jim is married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and they have a 2-year-old son named Evan. Oz is an NFL sportscaster living in Los Angeles with his supermodel girlfriend Mia (Katrina Bowden). Kevin is married to Ellie (Charlene Amoia) and works from home as an architect. Finch has supposedly gone missing. Stifler works as a temp at an investment firm.

When a high school reunion is announced, Jim and Michelle decide to return to East Great Falls for it. They arrive at his old home, where Jim’s dad Noah (Eugene Levy) is still grieving over his wife dying 3 years earlier. Jim also runs into his neighbor Cara (Ali Cobrin) whom he used to babysit and has since grown up. Jim meets up with Oz and Kevin at a bar. Finch also arrives on a motorcycle, telling them he has been traveling the world. In the bar, they meet Selena (Dania Ramirez), who was Michelle’s old band camp friend who used to be ugly but has since grown more attractive. The boys agree not to invite Stifler to any of their festivities, but they reluctantly allow Stifler to join them when he shows up at the bar.

The next day, the guys go to the beach with Michelle, Selena, and Mia. Oz reunites with Heather (Mena Suvari), who is dating a heart surgeon named Ron (Jay Harrington), while Kevin reunites with Vicky (Tara Reid). At night, the guys and girls, minus Michelle, go to the falls where they encounter a high school party celebrating Cara’s 18th birthday. Oz, Heather, Mia, and Ron spend time together, where Mia brags about her adventurousness and promiscuity and Ron secretly tells Oz he’d be willing to trade girlfriends. Kevin spends some time with Vicky, Finch makes out with Selena, and Stifler tries to hook up with high school girls. Jim is forced to drive a drunken Cara home. On the way, Kara tries to seduce Jim. Oz, Finch, and Stifler come help Jim secretly return Cara home, but her boyfriend A.J. (Chuck Hittinger) spots Jim and Stifler sneaking out. Meanwhile, Kevin wakes up in a bed next to Vicky without most of their clothes on and assumes they had sex.

The next day, Jim and Michelle, who have been having a lackluster sex life, decide to do something about it at a party Stifler is hosting. They decide to bring Noah to help him out of his depression. At the party, Noah gets drunk with Stifler and starts spending time with his mom Jeanine (Jennifer Coolidge). Kevin confronts Vicky about what happened the night before. When Vicky says they didn’t have sex, Kevin is relieved, but Vicky gets upset that he would have a low opinion of her. Mia takes ecstasy and shows everyone a video of Oz as a contestant on Celebrity Dance-Off, which shows his embarrassing loss. When Heather goes to comfort Oz, he admits he never should have left her and kisses her, but when she leaves, she returns to find Mia straddling him. Upset with him, she gets into a fight with Mia. Jim and Michelle decide to role play with dominatrix outfits, but Jim is confronted by Cara wanting to seduce him again. They are confronted by A.J. and their two groups of friends get into a fight, which is broken up by the cops, who are there to arrest Finch for stealing the motorcycle.

In the aftermath, Mia breaks up with Oz, Stifler decides to skip the reunion for work, and Michelle, upset with Jim’s behavior, goes to her grandmother’s. When Jim tells his dad about their lack of sex because of their son, his dad says they need to make time for each other. At the reunion, Jim, Oz, Kevin, and Finch, who was bailed out by his mom, meet up. Finch admits that he’s an assistant manager at Staples and stole the motorcycle when his boss didn’t give him a raise. They decide to go get Stifler. Stifler quits his job and accompanies them as they return to the reunion. Kevin makes amends with Vicky, Finch hooks up with Selena, Oz gets back together with Heather, and Jim reconciles with Michelle. Meanwhile Stifler is asked to be a party planner for a wedding and hooks up with Finch’s mom Rachel (Rebecca De Mornay), much to the delight of the finally reunited “MILF Guys”.

The next morning, the five friends gather at a hot dog joint, where Jim encounters Kara and both apologize for their behavior. Oz states he’s staying in town with Heather, Finch states he’s planning a trip with Selena to Europe, and Stifler plays coy about Finch’s mom. They all agree to gather once a year to catch up. Elsewhere, Noah and Jeanine are at a movie where Jeanine performs fellatio on him.

REVIEW:

I’m a pretty big fan on the American Pie franchise. The first 2 are among my favorites, as is American Pie Presents Band Camp. The other straight to DVD abominations, though, we’ll just pretend don’t really exist. Initially, when I heard they were getting the original cast back together for a theater released film, I was skeptical. I mean, the track record hasn’t exactly been the greatest following American Pie 2, which happens to be my favorite entry in the series. As more and more news came out about this, though, I found myself getting a little excited about American Reunion, but was it worth it?

Back in 1999, sex comedies had become almost a taboo thing to do, now in 2012, these things are a dime a dozen. Although, most of them are so bad they end up without even a sniff of the big screen. One thing that they all seem to have in common is they involve teens, so seeing some adults in a sex comedy is a nice change.

These guys have come a long way since those sex crazed horndogs we met in the first American Pie. That’s not to mention how far (some of) their careers have come after all these years.

I bet you’re wondering who has a reunion after 13 years, right? Well, and this is actually touched on in the film, someone screwed up in planning the 10 yr reunion, so they’re a little late in getting things off the ground.

Alright, so what worked for me?

Seeing all of the original cast again. Yes, they’re older (in some cases it really shows), but think about what you looked like 13 ys ago compared to today. Chances are there have been quite a few changes there, as well.

Eugene Levy, as with everything else he’s in, steals the show. Couple that with his hooking up with Jennifer Coolidge, and it is comic gold.

Speaking of Stifler’s mom, she’s still as hot as she was in the first two films. Then again, I’ve always said that about her…sometimes. I also loved how she was about to pop out of her dress. Now that I think about it, her character is not really that much different from the one she plays on Two Broke Girls in some ways.

Dania Ramirez was also a nice addition, especially since she was a band geek (something I know a lot about). A friend of mine who saw this at a midnight screening said it was nice to see that East Great Falls had some color, too.

The 90s music is a great touch here and there, but (not to spoil anything) when Oz and Heather get back together, they play the song that was playing when they hooked up after prom in the first film, which was a nice touch, I thought.

What didn’t work…

I love nudity of the female form. Yes, there are perky breasts to be seen here, not in as much abundance as previous entries, but my qualm is with the fact we had to see Jim’s junk. I know females out there will say that it is a double standard, but I could care less about seeing a guy’s penis, especially one squashed by a glass pot cover!

It has been 13 years and the acting for most of these guys has not gotten any better. Granted, with the exception of Alyson Hannigan, none of them have had steady work. Hell, Thomas Ian Nichols has literally only done these movies, to the best of my knowledge.

While it was good to see everyone again, some of them felt like they were brought in just to say, such as Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) and Jessica (Natasha Lyonne). I can accept the Jessica thing, as she wasn’t really a major part of the films in the first place, contrary to what the posters tell you, but Nadia was the main reason Jim got into all those sexual deviations, such as the pie situation and the infamous video on the net. Yet, for some reason, they brought her in for 2 seconds to say hi at the end, with some Jim look a like, which just made it worse.

If the direct to DVD sequels have taught us anything, it is that there is such a thing as too much Stifler (no matter part of the family they are) , yet this film didn’t seem to get that memo, as it gave a lot of focus on him. The thing is, Stifler is a good comedic supporting character who is different from the leads. When you make him a lead, it ruins the dynamic, as we learned in American Wedding. Now, this is not to say that Seann William Scott did a bad job. It was just the way it was written. 

On top of this, the mental breakdown that happens at the end of these movies, usually done by Kevin, happened to Stifler. What’s up with that?!?

Speaking of breakdown, did we really need to have Michelle running off to her grandmother’s? This is the 21st century, and just judging by her personality and chemistry with Jim, I just see her not getting mad, but taking it out on him in the bedroom. I joked that she may even invite that little 18 yr old to join them, or at least her band geek friend.

So, when all the dust settles, what do I really think of American Reunion? Well, it is a great trip down memory lane. I would wager that when you come out of seeing this, you’ll want to call up some old friends or that one that got away, or even just talk to an old friend who you had a crush on (and still might) but will never tell. I won’t say this is the best entry in the franchise, nor will I say it is a great film, but it is a good flick that can be enjoyed for what it is. I highly recommend it as you’re sure to come out with a smile on your face, especially after the credits scene. While I can’t say you should rush out and see it in theaters, rest assured, when the DVD comes out, I’ll be sure to be getting it…the unrated version, that is.

4 out of 5 stars