Last week, Universal Pictures released American Reunion on Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack and I was lucky enough to receive a copy to check out. Below you will find my original review of the theatrical cut along with a review of the bonus features, which there are many of.
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It’s hard to believe that it was almost 13 years ago that the first American Pie film was released and essentially became the Animal House of my generation. After two sequels and a handful of straight to DVD releases, the final theatrical film in the franchise is about to be released and I’m ecstatic to say that American Reunion does the franchise justice and is worthy of being the concluding feature.
The overall story: 13 years after graduating high school, Stifler (Sean William Scott), Jim (Jason Biggs), Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), Oz (Chris Klein), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) Heather (Mena Suvari) and Vicky (Tara Reid) reunite in East Great Falls for a weekend of mayhem and and their 13th class reunion.
The back story before they all reunite: Jim and Michelle are having sex problems. Kevin is essentially a housewife. Oz is a sports announcer dating a wild model who isn’t his type. Finch is an enigma as always and Stifler is a bitch at a big time investment firm. They all need this reunion badly so you can only imagine what might begin to happen when they get together.
The film stars the entire cast from the original film and it seems like the actors and actresses haven’t missed a beat since the series debut in 1999. As with the other films, most of the excitement and hilarious comedy comes from Jim, Stifler, and Jim’s Dad (Eugene Levy), who rightly steals every scene he’s in. Oz and Kevin provide their typical good guy romantic touch but luckily Oz is able to bring some laughs this time since, in the film, he starred on a ‘Dancing with the Stars’ type show. As for Finch laughs, it’s classic Finch.
American Reunion is pure mainstream comedic fun. It may not be classy and it may not be clean, but there is no denying that writer/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Scholssberg have done an excellent job bringing back the flair of the original and making Reunion a wild and touching flick in its own right. You can still expect Stifler to crack wise jokes and take a dump in a cooler, you can expect Jim to screw up with another naked hottie and you can expect Jim’s Dad to get drunk and pimp it up. All glorious moments that make immature people laugh with delight, myself included. Oh, you can also expect two to three seconds of male frontal nudity. You’ve been warned.
Since this is most likely going to be the last film and is also a full on reunion, fans will feel a certain amount of nostalgia which is why the film takes a temporary dramatic turn during its climax. It wants to show you that the ganghas grown up and matured, to an extent, and that although there are a ton of laughs, the film is also heartfelt and slightly emotional.
The only issue I can really point out, which is something you’ve come to expect, is that when the movie takes its downturn and one person has a problem, they all encounter their problems at the same time in a massive depressing explosion. The same exact thing happens when the problems are resolved, they all happen at th
e same time and everyone learns their lessons. Even if it seems cliché it is completely acceptable and really can’t be frowned upon too much.
It’s no surprise that as more sequels to a film are made, the more disappointing they are. The case is even stronger for comedies; the more sequels there are, the less funny they become, which is why I’m excited and proud to say that American Reunion defies this trend and succeeds where so many have failed. I can’t decide if the film is as good as the original or better but one thing is for sure, it’s a surefire crowd pleaser that’ll make American Pie fans glad that it’s ending on this honest yet hilarious note (fingers crossed!).
Movie Rating: A surefire crowd pleaser that’s both heartfelt and delightfully raunchy (6.8/10)
The Disc:
The following bonus features are available on both the DVD and the Blu-ray, theBblu-ray only features are further down the page.
Seven deleted scenes: This includes a scene when Jim comes home drunk after hanging with the guys, the scene where Finch actually screws Selena on the toilet and a scene where Stifler is prepping for his big party. Those were the funniest scenes out of the seven and are definitely worth a look.
Gag Reel: You know the drill with this. There are some very funny moments and then moments only funny to the people actually on set.
The “Reunion” Reunion: Re-launching the Series: We get a behind the scenes glimpse at the challenges of bringing everyone together as well as footage of everyone reuniting for the first time and getting ready to do their first table read. It was a very surreal experience for the actors and you could easily tell from the footage.
Jim’s Dad: Eugene Levy talks about the evolution of his character and the directors talk about expanding his role to outside of the Levenstein household. Alyson Hannigan talks about tweezing his trademark eyebrows and everyone seems to have something to say about the scene where takes a shot from the female-shaped ice luge.
Ouch! My Balls!: Apparently, while on set, the guys, and even some of the girls, would hit each other in the nuts for fun. This segment captures a lot of those nuts shots on camera while they also discuss their desire to always punch Jim as often as they could. He’s glad that he had a kid before this game started up again.
Feature Commentary with Co-directors/Co-writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg for both the rated and unrated versions of the film.
The rest of these features are only available on the blu-ray:
Extended Scenes: There are 13 of them
Alternate Takes: They take a few scenes throughout the film and show us all the different lines and ways that they were shot. They start it all off with the Jason Biggs dick and pot cover scene.
The “Out of Control” Track: When you select this feature you are treated to the entire feature once again but this time cast members like Jason Biggs, Sean William Scott, and Alyson Hannigan pop up onto the screen and make jokes, offer commentary and rip on each other.
The Best of Biggs-Hangin’ with Jason Biggs: This is pretty much a segment where people gush over Jason Biggs and say how much the y love him and working with him. Jason gives some funny commentary about himself on set and how he believes he is a true “professional,” one who constantly farts on set.
Lake Bake: The cast and filmmakers talk about shooting the day beach scenes which proved to be the most difficult. They talk about what it was like to shoot in such hot and humid weather, how they weren’t allowed in the water to cool off, and how Jason Biggs didn’t get a drop on him when the jet skis were spraying them in the face.
Dancing with the Oz: This is a two minute featurette where Chris Klein, the directors and his choreographer talk about shooting the “celebrity dance off” scene. They discuss how hard Chris worked to learn his hip-hop moves and the old school outfit they decided to make him wear.
American Gonad-iators: The Fight Scene: A four minute featurette that dissects the immature fight scene that breaks out at Stifler’s party between the old men and the high school kids. We learn about the difficulties of Biggs battling others in his gimp outfit, the giant water bugs that crawled around in the grass while they were fighting and the fact that only Thomas Ian Nicholas was the only one who would do his own stunts and battle with the stunt doubles.
American Reunion Yearbook: This is an interactive yearbook where you can click on a character from the franchise and get a complete overview of their story. They have a “where are they now” segment, a section on the cast discussing the characters, the characters’ favorite activities and their most embarrassing moments. It’s a fun way to kill some time but only if you really need to kill some time.
Overall, this is solid disc full of some fun features for fans of the franchise.
Blu-ray Rating: (7/10)
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