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FILM DETAILS

Certificate 15

Cast Jason Biggs Seann William Scott Alyson Hannigan Thomas Ian Nicholas Chris Klein Tara Reid Mena Suvari Eugene Levy Eddie Kaye Thomas.

Directors Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg.

Screenwriters Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg.

Running Time 113 minutes

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American Pie: Reunion
Friends (and jokes) reunited

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Plot
It’s 13 years since Jim (Biggs), Michelle (Hannigan), Kevin (Nicholas), Oz (Klein), Finch (Thomas), Stifler (Scott) and the rest graduated from East Great Falls High. Now they return for a delayed class reunion, to discover that no matter how things change (marriage, kids, life), some things stay the same...

Review

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The N word — nostalgia — can be a tricky, offensive term. It’s not necessarily the first phrase you might associate with something that also wants to position itself as a gross-out comedy full of boners, booze and boobs. But with Harold & Kumar creators Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg at the helm, and the whole original cast back for more, American Pie: Reunion looks to rekindle the relationship. The result is a bit like looking at an ex on Facebook — a mixture of happy memories and the crushing reality that, as with so many former flames, age is rarely kind.

Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are now parents to a two-year-old, and are trying to put the spark back in their marriage. Oz has become a semi-famous sports caster with a hot blonde girlfriend (30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden). Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) has settled into the life of a househusband and works as an architect. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is a well-travelled renaissance man who brings tales of tribes and tattoos. Mena Suvari’s Heather is a doctor, dating a colleague, but seemingly still carrying a torch for Oz. Stifler’s (Seann William Scott) still Stifler, though he’s stuck wondering why the world isn’t a constant party, and trying to make the most of life as a temp. Oh, and Tara Reid’s Vicky is... living in New York, which is about all we learn of her in the small screen time she’s allotted.

The majority of the film is split between ruminating about the passing of time and how life works out (with the lads in particular pondering how The Kids Today are so much wilder/hotter than they were) and trying to recapture some element of youth. Unfortunately for us, this equals Hurwitz and Schlossberg watching the first movie and figuring out as many callbacks as it’s possible to squeeze into one sequel. In fact, aside from the odd wife/job/baby here and there, everything is much the same, and that’s part of the problem. It all becomes very predictable very fast. Jim is caught masturbating, Finch has a bathroom issue (albeit a pleasant one this time), Oz is crushing on Heather etc. If there’s any real development, it’s for Eugene Levy as Jim’s dad. With his wife dead, he’s encouraged to start dating again, leading to plenty of Levy being awkward or awesome and finally meeting up with Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge). They riff off each other well, but even that comes across less like a fully thought-out development in the story and more like American Pie fan fiction writ large on screen.

The actors do their best, though, and the performances are good-natured enough that there’s some fun to be had simply hanging out with them again. Old friends, then: it’s nice to see them, it’s fun to catch up, but there comes a point when you realise there might just be a reason you didn’t stay in touch as much as you might have. After all, nostalgia can only get you so far.

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Your Reviews

Average user rating for American Pie: Reunion

Generous!

Unlike most on here I think 2 stars is actually pretty generous! This film was just dire! Easily the worst of the four films. The acting had reached an all time low and it just wasnt very funny! ... More

Posted by guysalisbury at 11:23, 29 April 2013 | Report This Post

Great fun and kinda sweet!

I'm of the exact age/generation that this film is for - and I loved it. The gag ratio is high, so early on there are a few embarrassing moments, but it has plenty of laughs. So to compare it to, say, Identity Theft, is ludicrous! This had me laughing all the way though. For sure it isn't the best script, but - Katrina Bowden aside - the performances are a lot of fun. Stiffler is surely one of the best comic creations?? ... More

Posted by tysmuse at 21:29, 04 April 2013 | Report This Post

Way Better Than 2 Stars!!

I think Empire's James White either has no sense of humour or was having a real bad day when he reviewed this. Ok it isn't perfect but it has some real laugh out loud moments. You know what to expect when you see an American Pie movie and this is as good as the best of them, silly, entertaining, gross out gags with characters we're all very familiar with. If there is anyone who didn't find this funny, well then you're either James White, dead, or don't like any of the American Pie movies....in w... More

Posted by Kevin Kennedy at 09:02, 27 October 2012 | Report This Post

hahahaha funny movie

hahahahaha funny movie ... More

Posted by Ciaran McDaid at 00:41, 15 May 2012 | Report This Post

RE: American Pie: Reunion

American Reunion In all honesty...completely pointless, this franchise was perfectly fine with the original three and all the sexual toilet humour had been exhausted pretty good even then. Here we simply have more of the same obviously but its just not funny anymore because its all been done when the cast were younger and it made more sense. I saw the first film when I was around 21 I think so I myself have grown up with the characters (sort of, maybe I'm a bit older?) as it were. Now... More

Posted by Phubbs at 16:18, 10 May 2012 | Report This Post

Not great. But 'okay', certainly.

The film is consistently amusing, if not laugh-out-loud hilarious, and there are some nicely executed farcical set-pieces. AP:R works in that you laugh when you're meant to, but there's a feeling that renewing everyone's contracts one last time should have been for something more than this. Watch it on DVD with friends and drinks for best effect, but there's really nothing new here. ... More

Posted by TheMightyBlackout at 22:01, 07 May 2012 | Report This Post

Come on James, you need to tweak your funny bone! This was easily as funny as the first three, and has everything you want from an American Pie movie. (I exclude the tripe that came between this and "The Wedding".) And yes, as has been said, it will be funnier to those who know the original films well, as it's scattered with in-jokes, but I think it will still appeal to the "new" generation. Funny stuff. ... More

Posted by Whistler at 16:28, 02 May 2012 | Report This Post

RE: American Reunion *Spoilers*

No way this can be 2-star bad! The third one was far better than the review suggested, so I'll wait until next week before I pass judgment. ... More

Posted by nhassell at 00:53, 24 April 2012 | Report This Post

RE: American Reunion *Spoilers*

This won’t appeal to everyone, it’s strictly for fans only. Like last years Scre4m, American Pie: Reunion is a blast for anyone who grew up loving these characters and have been wondering what they’ve been up to over the past couple of years. There are cameos galore and references to the 90s that make you feel young all over again but that’s just nostalgia, and the film play on that for a lot of the time, and whilst it is funny and raunchy one has to question if anyone outside of the American P... More

Posted by odddaze at 15:24, 17 April 2012 | Report This Post

American Reunion *Spoilers*

I must admit that I was a fan of the 1999 original film and what set it aside from many other teen comedies at the time was the amount of good, likeable characters involved, the obviously rude Stifler gained belly laughs from his sexist antics, Jim with his early attempts at seducing the ladies under the guidance of his all-knowing father and Paul Finch moving up the ranks to MILF botherer from high school virgin all kept me more than interested. Then followed the two sequels, losing cast ... More

Posted by Mark Daws at 12:11, 14 April 2012 | Report This Post

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