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, 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 gang 
has 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 the 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!).
Rating: A surefire crowd pleaser that’s both heartfelt and raunchy (6.8/10)
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