American Reunion  (2012) Directed by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg. Starring: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan and Seann William Scott. IMDB says: “Jim, Michelle, Stifler, and their friends reunite in East Great Falls, Michigan for their high school reunion.”

Thirteen years ago American Pie brought the genre of raunchy teen comedies back into fashion putting teenagers and their sexual urges on full display in a surprise hit comedy that spawned a unmemorable sequel and a pretty hilarious third installment. Of course, it also had all of those direct-to-dvd spinoffs that don’t really count.

The high school reunion serves as a reason to bring Jim (Jason Biggs), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Stifler (Seann William Scott) and even Oz, who skipped Wedding (Chris Klein, looking pretty good again after a few rough years) back together. The other usual guys from the past few films, Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy), and Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge) reprise their roles. They even got Tara Reid and Mena Suvari in on this sequel.

After all of that name-dropping, I do really have a point. One of the most enjoyable parts of this movie is the fact that it truly is a “reunion” of all the character that hooked you in the original. Many of the funny cast members from Pie that fleshed out their high school class cameo, giving this movie more of the feel of the first than either sequel of the franchise. Not to mention, a host of new characters that serve as welcome additions for the most part.

With this immense cast, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold & Kumar writers) somehow balance crafting stories for each of the main guys without making the movie cumbersome and keeping the running time under two hours. They emphasize on the aspects that made the first film great, like Jim’s relationship with his dad and Stifler’s insane antics, while keeping the same brand of humor in tact. None of the stories break ground in very original ways, but the script keeps things snappy and there’s plenty of laughs that you didn’t see in the trailer.
Your enjoyment of this movie is obviously conditional on your opinion of the past installments. Lindsay and I have been fans since the start, and we both had a lot of fun watching this movie. It seems worth rehashing this series for a film that stays true to what fans have always appreciated about it. Plus, most of this cast really need something to do.

 

FTS SCORE:
71%


American Reunion is in theaters Friday, April 6th, 2012.

 

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Jess can be spotted in every corner of FTS - chatting every week on the podcast, contributing to the blog page, and running day to day site activities.

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4 Responses

  1. Dan O.

    The original gang is back and still have the comedic timing they did 13 years ago, which is always fun no matter what. There isn’t anything new or special about this entry into the series but for anyone who wants some nice 1999 nostalgia, then this is the perfect fit. Good review Jess. I liked it a lot more than the previous two sequels though, which may not be saying too much but still says something.

    • Jess

      Glad you enjoyed the movie and my review! I was pleased with how the cast was able to jump back into their roles with complete ease and without missing a beat. I personally thought the first sequel was just okay but found American Wedding to be a lot of fun. Thanks for reading!