I remember not being allowed to see American Pie when I had just turned 13 as my parents deemed it too raunchy. Being the young rebel I was I found a way to see it anyway. To this day it, and the two true sequels, remain some of favourite comedies. Sure, the American Pie 2 and American Pie: Wedding weren't as good as the first, but they all provided copious amounts of good-spirited yet raunchy and filthy laughs with characters you really liked. After a slew of shockingly bad direct-to-video sequels I was extremely excited to see the gang return for one final film in American Reunion. These are characters that have been gone from the screen far too long if you ask me, and their return, although not as good as the first, is still a hilarious trip down memory lane.
It's been awhile since the gang have been together, 13 years to be exact, which is the year their high school reunion takes place. Jim (Jason Biggs) is married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) with a son, Oz (Chris Klein) is a sports news reporter and engaged to model Mia (Katrina Bowden), Finch has dropped off the radar (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is married and an architect and Stifler (Seann William Scott) is a PA at a big firm. When they meet up for their reunion, they are once again up to their old shenanigans.
Writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg stick to the same formula which made the others so successful, and it worked. The situations these guys get themselves into are weaved into the story well, nothing seems forced. All the actors do a fantastic job of bringing these characters back to their old selves, it's like they were born to play these roles. Obviously the movie is somewhat predictable, with certain characters ending up with another person. By the end, American Reunion has come full circle, and for the people who grew up with American Pie as a teenager it is nice to see it wrapped up as well as it has been.
3½/5
