The AMERICAN PIE series had really run its course as it made its way through AMERICAN WEDDING nine years ago. Each sequel had taken a step back from the first film, with the last movie really serving as a shell of the franchise. It became far too much about the outrageous antics of Steve Stifler than anything else, and, with the rest of the cast really just there as window dressing (even Chris Klein knew it was time to get out), it was quite clear these movies really had nothing left to say.
What a difference a hiatus makes though, as Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (the duo behind the HAROLD & KUMAR series) were recruited to give some new life to the gang from East Great Falls in AMERICAN REUNION. The new sequel brings back the entire original cast, from Jim all the way to the Sherminator, for their 13-year high school reunion (hey, they had to make the years work somehow). There’s a strong sense of nostalgia that permeates AMERICAN REUNION, giving us a glimpse at some all-too-familiar characters doing the things we remember them fondly for, but, removed from being a teen sex comedy on age alone, the follow-up is most interesting when it’s touching upon what it’s like to be all grown-up.
AMERICAN REUNION is no longer about chasing pussy and hoping to get laid, as it was for a lot of us back in high school. All you could think about was trying to bang a cheerleader or if your girlfriend was ready for sex, and that was greatly reflected in the first film. But it’s a different time now for both these characters and us. Having been about 19 years old when the first film hit, I’m now at a similar point in my life as these characters. Life isn’t about fun and games anymore… unless you’re one of those sad fuckers still holding onto the glory days of high school. For the rest of us, we have responsibility that matters a hell of a lot more. Maybe we have a spouse who factors into the decisions we make. Maybe we have kids who we need to focus on providing for. You have a job you need to go to. You have bills that need to be paid. Rent or a mortgage, food, car insurance – this is growing up. It’s a lot different than the major decisions of “Am I going to get drunk this weekend?” from your younger days.
That’s where we find our group of guys – Jim (Jason Biggs), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Oz (the returning Klein) and Stifler (Seann William Scott) – navigating their way through their 30s as they head back home for a fun weekend with friends from the past. They’ve all got their unique set of problems, whether dealing with feelings resurfacing from high school or encountering something new in their older age, and, as to be expected, the reunion weekend is a perfect time to explore them and try to resolve them.
I remember the first AMERICAN PIE not being as raunchy as advertised, but still funny in its own right, and AMERICAN REUNION follows suit. The humor is still there in these characters after all these years, going back to the well with some funny bits built around nudity and bodily fluids. Plus, what would an AMERICAN PIE flick be without a few instances of sex jokes. Some of it feels a little “been there, done that” before, such as sneaking into a house where you’re not supposed to be, which feels heavily borrowed from the lesbian break-in sequence of AMERICAN PIE 2, but just because I’ve seen it before doesn’t mean it still isn’t capable of making me laugh now.
Jason Biggs is a trooper once again, allowing himself to be the butt of the physical humor and embarrassment that AMERICAN REUNION has to offer, as to be expected from Jim. He’s always been a magnet for awkward moments, and REUNION easily delivers the most revealing of the series, pushing the envelope way further than the previous films with a few seconds that make his pie-fucking look tame by comparison. Furthermore, Jim remains the heart of the film. His interactions with his dad (Eugene Levy) continue to feel genuine, if not still ripe with too much information being shared between father and son, because it’s still very much about two people doing their best to look out for each other, a relationship now further expanded upon with Jim’s Dad now a widower. Their sexual obsessions aside, these are good people still focused on doing the right thing in the end, and that rings true in AMERICAN REUNION.
The film also takes a really interesting look at Stifler, getting a bit more in-depth as to how the character is handling this part of his life. Since AMERICAN PIE, the Stifmeister has become a caricature of himself across the sequels, acting more cartoonish with his antics. Sure, he was still capable of stealing scenes, but it wasn’t quite so fluid, with Stifler’s obnoxious personality being thrust front and center for us to have no choice but to notice. However, being the asshole doesn’t translate well as you get older. You have a family. You have priorities. You don’t need that shit in your life. A guy like Stifler, whose primary focus is taking shots, gets left behind. Hurwitz and Schlossberg, who also wrote the script, add a layer to Stifler that no one ever bothered to touch upon, as previous writers and directors were more concerned with using him to make us laugh. But there’s a certain sadness to Stifler that Scott gets to play with this time around, in showing us how time hasn’t been too kind to how other adults view him. It’s a nice change of pace for Stifler, with him finally receiving a story arc that we care to follow.
There’s a few new characters scattered around to keep AMERICAN REUNION fresh, but this sequel is all about the originals, specifically the guys that started it all. It’s nice to see Alyson Hannigan, Mena Suvari and, to a lesser degree, Tara Reid back for the fun, but this is all about seeing Biggs, Nicholas, Thomas, Klein and Scott going from boys to men. The more they change, the more they still stay the same, which is really what works for AMERICAN REUNION. It has that feel of the first film, which was the best of the bunch, so, to once again recapture what AMERICAN PIE did right means we get a capable sequel. It doesn’t stray from the successful formula and sticks to its strengths. If you’re a fan of the first film, there’s really not much not to like about this one. It’s a nice way to touch base with characters we once knew well, catching up with them on where they are in life for a short time, and then getting back to our regular lives. It’s a reunion in its purest sense, minus the cash bar, serving as a pleasant reminder of where we’ve been and where we are. It’s a harmless trip down memory lane with enough laughs to make it worth the ticket.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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