Since the first American Pie film was released in 1999, the franchise has become extremely popular with a series of sequels that have attracted new and old fans alike. The original American Pie was a funny slice of life where four boys decide to make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate high school…and need it be said that a pie plays some part in the story?
Now the whole gang (including Stifler’s Mom) returns for the latest installment, American Reunion, where thirteen years after the events of the first film, everyone reunites for their high school reunion. The film is touching as it shows the transformation the characters go through, involving marriage, hating work and the usual bugaboos that come with entering adulthood as the gang is now in their early 30s.
In the years that have passed, Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are married, but are having some issues; Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) and Vicky (Tara Reid) have grown apart; Oz (Chris Klein) broke up with Heather (Mena Suvari), but he’s become a well-known sportscaster in the meantime, while Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) still yearns for, of course, Stifler’s Mom (Jennifer Coolidge). And what of Stifler (Seann William Scott)? Well, he has a dead end job that he hates, no thanks to his jerk of a boss.
American Reunion stays in the tradition of the other films in the series, but what’s appealing about this installment is that the primary characters are still a good natured bunch…sure they curse and are obsessed with sex, who isn’t at that age, but deep down inside, they’re a decent bunch of guys.
Part of what made the original film so popular was the charm of these characters and the cast. Audiences related to their teenaged angst, so it’s no surprise that it was immediately relatable to teenagers and adults alike.
Yet this reunion, like all reunions brings up pain from years gone by, yet it gives old friends an opportunity to reconnect and laugh at the past. That’s what makes American Reunion a charming slice of life, in that it’s honest about fragile teenage emotions, yet explores it with a sense of humor.