American Reunion

My school was handing out tickets for a special screening for American Reunion tonight, I just got back from the screening. I was never a die hard fan of the American Pie series, but I've always found them to be quite enjoyable. I still feel the same way when I was watching this film. I'll be honest, I thought this one wasn't going to be any good and I thought it would be toned down, I'm glad to be wrong this time around. I'm not going to go much into the plot except that it's simply a reunion as all the characters are here to return, which it what you'd expect coming into this. It's just as sweet and crude as the previous three. Just like the other films, Seann William Scott is still the best part of the film. The rest of the cast did just as good as they did with the previous films. If you're a fan of the previous films, you'll still find something to enjoy. If you never were a fan, this isn't going to change your mind.

The in-between movies didn't really do anything for any American Pie fan (talking about everything that was tagged with the American Pie title after the American Wedding aka Part 3), but this one will satisfy the fans of the original. Even though (or because) they have grown up, many will remember them. While I think it works for newer viewers (without previous knowledge of the original trilogy), I think the full viewing potential/pleasure will only emerge if you have seen the others too.

While I was a bit skeptical about the fact that Stifler (played exceptionally again by Sean William Scott), went "back" attitude wise in this one, it made more than sense and doesn't take anything away from his arc in Part 3. I would even say, his journey is fulfilled now for sure! The others have their problems too (even if some seem small in comparison to others) and they play it as straight as the first time. Many familiar faces will show up, even the ones who didn't have an actual character name in part 1. A nice touch.

The movie may be (largely) predictable, but apart from some major surprise towards the end, it is done with love by everyone involved and you can feel that through the screen. A really fitting end (?) to a series, that defined a generation of movie-goers

Doesn't quite reach the highs of the originals but extremely nostalgic and just about enough laughs to make it worth the watch.

American Reunion completes the transition into adulthood for these characters in a typically sincere fashion. It feels ahead of its time by being a legacy sequel long before it became one of Hollywood's main vices and sacrifices none of the laughs whilst still being able to let everyone accept that it's time to move on from trying to recreate the highs of high school.

It's really nice to have the main five back together and whilst Chris Klein is probably the least funny, his reintroduction brings so much heart and that's always been this franchise's greatest strength. Seann William Scott essentially repeats his arc from the last one to even greater success and Eugene Levy getting more screen time than ever is an adorable gift.

Directors Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg continue what Jesse Dylan started by giving this one quite a bit of energy with their pretty dynamic direction. There's some well placed callbacks here and some of these jokes leave a huge lasting impression. As is always the case, the soundtrack here is a real highlight as it bookends the film rather than being a constant presence.

American Reunion (2012)

*** (out of 4)

The fourth film in the series brings back all the major players from the first film for their 13th anniversary. Jim, Oz, Kevin, Finch and Stifler decide to have some fun during the reunion even if each one of them are facing dramas of being adults. It's really a shame that most people will probably stay away from this due to two weak sequels and a whole slew of direct- to-DVD cash ins because American REUNION is certainly the best film since the first and it's also one of the better "reunion" movies that has been made over the past few decades. I think the film made a good decision in not going for 100% gross-out humor like the two sequels and instead it tries to put in some characters just like the first movie. Needless to say but the entire cast fit back into their roles so perfectly that you don't have to worry about any weak performances. All of them do an extremely good job and especially Chris Klein who is back after missing the previous entry. Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas and Seann William Scott are all perfect as well as are a few of the new people. I think the movie gets off to a somewhat shaky start but once everything dealing with the reunion kicks in we get some extremely good moments. Not all of the laughs are are loud as in the first movie but I think they're more natural and just around more fun. The entire film had a smile on my face and I thought there were some tender moments as well that worked out nicely. There's also some drama thrown in dealing with some of the characters disappointments in where they are in their lives but this here works very well. American REUNION still has plenty of raunchy sex and dirty jokes, which one has come to expect but like the first film this here also has a great and great character development. The movie is an extremely good one so hopefully people will give it a shot even if they were disappointed in the previous two sequels.