American Pie - The Reunion

The original cast from American Pie, return to East Great Falls for their ten year high school reunion - ten years older and ten years wiser......

Stifler, Jim, Finch, Oz, Michelle, Vicky, Jim's Dad, Stiflers' Mom, all of the characters we love so much from the 2003 "American Pie", make their return to the franchise as their ten year school reunion takes place in their home town of East Great Falls. The characters are older, but the shenanigans are much the same despite them meant to be more mature adults...

New loves and partners are exposed to the madness of the small town, old acquaintances renewed and old lessons, long forgotten need to be learnt again. Jim, will need to try and rekindle the flame that he found at his prom if he is to save his marriage, Oz will need to remember where his heart truly does lie, Finch, will need to confront the truth about his life, and Stifler, well he will just continue to be Stifler...

It's a train wreck waiting to happen and all you can do is sit back and enjoy the mayhem as the characters that shaped a generation return to the big screen for one more triumphant fling!

There was much anticipation in the run-up to this film. I know I had been excited for this for the last six months and it more than lived up to my expectations. Maybe its the teenager or 20 something in me, that remembers the first few films in the series and wishes they could return to those heady times of the early noughties. Whatever it is, this film is everything that you could possibly want. The same sets, the same characters, same insanely crazy antics, and "Jim", still managing to get himself into compromising positions.

The old stories and relationships, for the most part have stood the test of time, some of the players have gone onto stardom, while others, you see for the first time since the early films and have to ask yourself, "Where on earth has he/she been hiding?"

Jason Biggs reprises the role of "Jim Levenstein", the role which put him on the global map, and for the most part has seen him continue in its shadow for the next decade as if he had never stopped. He gives a great performance, trying to be more mature as a married man, with a toddler, but knowing deep down that he is still the same old horny teenager we all know and love. Alyson Hannigan plays his long suffering wife "Michelle", a more adult and responsible version of the girl who immortalized the line, "This one time at band camp", but despite her character change, gives an inspired performance, although a bit more of the old naughtiness would not have gone amiss.

Chris Klein does well as "Oz", but you still get the feeling that he needs to grow a set, while Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid and Mena Suvari, although playing large chunks in the story, just feel like extras, never really achieving their potential. John Cho, thankfully takes on a much bigger role in this installment, his talents coming to the fore, but for the man who single handedly managed to bring the word "MILF" into every day parlance, he very much deserves it.

Eugene Levy is superb as always in his role as "Jim's Dad", bringing a bit of emotion to the role after the untimely passing of his wife. His melancholy is just perfect to break up the eternal comedy and cringeworthy moments in this film, keep an eye out for the final scene, he is priceless. Jennifer Coolidge is back as "Stifler's Mom", dead pan as always, but one of the funniest actresses on the circuit today. Ali Cobrin does really well  as the love-struck teenager "Kara", who has the ultimate crush on "Jim" and uses his return to try to fulfill some of her fantasies. She gives a convincing showing, giving us a few good laughs and showing more than a little skin, keep an eye out for her in future productions.

American Pie The Reunion is a feel good movie for all who are old enough to have enjoyed the original and a kick in the head for the new generation who will scamper off to find all of the previous seven films. You will laugh, get a lump in your throat, and hark back to your younger days for a long while after seeing this film, but whatever you do, don't take the kids!

7/10