Review
‘Reunion’ carries on ‘American Pie’ tradition
April 13, 2012
I’m sure many of us have seen several of the American Pie movies. From the originals, “American Pie,” “American Pie 2” and “American Wedding,” to “Beta House,” “Band Camp,” “The Book of Love” and the “Naked Mile.” We laughed at, we cringed at and we loved these films.
I saw the most recent installment, “American Reunion.” The East Great Falls class of 1999 is back for a long over due 10-year reunion. It has been 13 years since graduation and surprisingly, the entire original cast returned for the film.
Jim, Oz, Finch, Kevin, Stifler, Michelle, Vicky, Heather and even Jim’s dad all reunite for another hilarious escapade.
Everybody from 1999 has moved on with their lives. Jim and Michelle have a son, Kevin is married, Oz lives in Los Angeles, Finch has traveled the world and even Stifler has a job. Everything seems as if things are going great.
Although, things aren’t always what they seem. Jim and Michelle’s marriage isn’t as hot and heavy as it used to be, Stifler is a temp at his job, Kevin is a house husband, Oz’s life isn’t great and Finch isn’t quite the daredevil that he made everybody believe that he was. Jim’s dad, Noah, is grieving the loss of his wife, and is afraid to get back out there so Jim and Michelle bring him to a party where he meets Stifler’s infamous mother.
At the party, Jim is seduced by a girl that he used to baby sit, Heather and Oz develop their old feelings for one another, and Kevin and Vicky start hanging out again.
Even though things go wrong for all of the characters at one point or another, the reunion at the end of the movie brings happy endings and closure to the story.
Overall, the film follows the original three installments rather well. I was surprised that references from other films were brought up, and even smaller characters made appearances.
My favorite characters came back into the movie, including the guys that were always obsessed with Stifler’s mom. Other characters that made small cameos were Sherman (aka the Shermanator), Jessica, (Vicky’s best friend) and Nadia, Jim’s love interest from the first “American Pie.”
Some of the jokes were dry and over done but the movie still had a good amount of laughs. It was interesting to see grown men still acting as if they were in high school. Stifler really hadn’t grown up, and once the others got together with him, it was like old times again.
I don’t think I would waste the money to see it again though. It was funny but I should have waited to rent it. It seems as if all of those films are better watched in the privacy of your own home. Sometimes I feel awkward watching a movie with so much sex and profanity in it.
I liked that they sort of closed the whole series off with “American Reunion.” It was a good ending to a big series to those of us growing up in that time.
Samantha Harkness is a journalism major at UW-River Falls. She loves reading, writing and watching movies.