American Pie: Reunion (2012)

Directed by: John Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg | 110 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Katrina Bowden, Natasha Lyonne, Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, John Cho, Tara Reid, Jennifer Coolidge, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Dania Ramirez, Eugene Levy, Chris Owen, Charlene Amoia, Jay Harrington, Autumn Dial, Molly Cheek

After a long absence, the ‘American Pie’ series is finally back. Because although many new parts in this popular comedy series have been released in recent years, it is safe to say that the last real ‘American Pie’ is the 2003 ‘American Wedding’. The four volumes that followed (‘Band Camp’, ‘The Naked Mile’, ‘Beta House’ and ‘The Book of Love’ respectively) may all have been released with the addition ‘American Pie Presents’, with the first three they all had nothing to do with sharing. With ‘American Pie: Reunion’ the entire cast of the first three parts is united. And that is good news for everyone who cares about this series.

In ‘American Pie: Reunion’ we meet all the familiar faces again. Everyone has now finished school and has reached the next stage of life. Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) have become parents, Oz (Chris Klein) is a famous face on TV and Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is married in the meantime. Only Stifler (Seann William Scott) hasn’t changed a bit, how could it be otherwise. When a reunion for the graduating class of 1999 is organized, the entire group of friends from yesteryear comes together for a weekend of catching up and of course going wild. Because in the end it turns out that none of the group is really satisfied with the much more serious life they currently lead.

From the opening scene of the film (in which Jim cannot resist the temptation of an adult website) it is clear that, although the entire cast is a lot older by now, this does not automatically mean that they also behave more mature. And that might be a good thing. ‘American Pie: Reunion’ immediately feels like a real ‘American Pie’ movie again. And so the (sometimes lame) jokes about sex and everything related to it are flying around you again at a rapid pace. It feels good to see Stifler full of energy making fun of everyone and everything and Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is still wonderfully philosophical. And of course Jim’s father (Eugene Levy) is still there for his son to give him (unsolicited) love advice, although later in the film the father-son relationship is suddenly turned around and Jim gives his father advice about women in a comical way. The film doesn’t do anything innovative, but it still feels very familiar. The many references to the first two parts, such as jokes about the legendary ‘apple pie scene’ and the YouTube video of Jim and Nadia, are also fun for fans of the series.

What still gnaws after seeing this ‘American Pie’ is that it all feels a bit easy-going. Everything the film does was actually done ten years ago. Because in the second part (which appeared in 2001), for example, everyone also gathered again in the summer, in that case after a year of lectures. And although it is good on the one hand that the characters have remained reasonably recognizable, this at the same time creates a very strong ‘been there done that’ feeling. The end of the film, where a lot of effort is made to really let all relationships and loose ends run smoothly, should not have been necessary. The few new characters that are introduced, the main one being Kara (Ali Cobrin), Jim’s now grown-up girl next door, are little more than a mandatory addition.

‘American Pie: Reunion’ is therefore too erratic to be really good. There are some hilarious scenes in it, like one in Jim’s neighbors house where Jim tries without her parents noticing to get the drunken Kara back in her bed who will leave you wanting more and Stifler is also like ‘ the stifmeister’ in his element again. The end result of all this is a film that is good enough to make you quickly forget the previous four parts, but at the same time it can’t match the level of parts one and two.