American Pie 4

This is a true sequel: it expands on a previous story and makes it better. American Pie was never a great film and the many reincarnations of the same story did not do it good, but American Reunion almost fixes everything, giving it a true human dimension. In my opinion, it is this film that makes American Pie a classic. I just hope they don't turn it into another franchise. Let it rest, people! You got it right, don't mess with it.

Other than that, the same crazy antics, part felony, part madness and the same awkward situations, but with a more adult touch. Everybody is married, with children, but at heart, they are still kids. That is what this film is all about.

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.

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

Going to keep this short, because it's my first review, and I don't wamt to bore people.

Saw an early screening today in Amsterdam, and I was really excited because the trailer promised a lot. And you know what? It was amazing!

Simply because they made it as good as the original and the second movie. (I liked the first two but I personally think that the third one drifted away from the original theme a bit)

I also liked how they made Stifler return to his original state. Crazy as always, doing things the way he wants to do. The other thing that I found good was that they briefly showed what everyone does after high school and at what position they are at the moment.

All in all, great film (what else could you expect from these guys), I'd say go see it, definitely worth your time!

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