CAST: Jason
Biggs (Jim), Alyson Hannigan (Michelle), Chris Klein (Oz), Thomas Ian Nicholas
(Kevin), Tara Reid (Vicky), Seann William Scott (Steve Stifler); DIRECTOR: Jon
Hurwitz, Hayden Schossberg; SCREENWRITER: Adam Herz, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schossberg;
FILM PRODUCER: Chris Moore, Craig Perry, Warren Zide; EDITING BY: Jeff
Betancourt; MUSIC BY: Lyle Workman;
GENRE: Comedy, Romance; CINEMATOGRAPHER DISTRIBUTOR Universal; LOCATION: USA; RUNNING TIME: 110
minutes
Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 1.5
Cinema rating: For viewers 18 years old and
above
Thirteen Years
after they have graduated, Jim (Biggs),Kevin (Nicholas), Oz (Klein), Finch
(Thomas) and Stifler (Scott) return to their old town to attend their High School
reunion over a long weekend and to momentarily relive their carefree adolescent
lives. Jim, now married to highschool
geek Michelle, is suffering from a lacklustre sex life after the birth of their
2-year old son; while Oz’s booming celebrity career and high-profile
relationship is merely a façade for the frustration he feels within. Finch is
nowhere to be found and Kevin seems happily married and content as a stay-at
home dad while Stifler is totally disgusted with his job and his tyrannical
boss. When the boys get together, Stifler tries to recreate their high school
life complete with slutty behaviour and sluttier parties but realize that his
batch mates have outgrown him and actually have matured a notch. Jim gets
advice from his dad, now a widower, on how to rekindle their marriage’s romance
while the latter gets tips from his son on how to move out of his loneliness.
The reunion provides an avenue to each of the characters to resolve their
issues and realize how much their friendship means to them after all these
years.
American Pie
Reunion does not offer anything new. While it remains faithful to its core
formula of sexual awakening and the growing up pains that it involves, the fact
that the characters are now pushing 40 poses an issue with that premise. It
doesn’t help that most of the jokes revolve on exposed body parts, body fluids and bad attitude because it
merely made the movie a little too juvenile. The attempt to give each character
a storyline further thinned the already frayed plot. The actors portrayed their characters as if
they were still naïve hormone-driven teenagers raving to explore sexuality
which makes them downright silly and pathetic. There are a few cheap laughs
here and there and some noteworthy one-lines but who would want to waste two
hours on such trashy film?
There are three
problem areas with this movie. First, sex is treated as a commodity. Even with
Jim’s “sex is sacred and you should save yourself for someone special” line to
Kara does nothing to redeem its view on sex as something available to anyone
anytime, anywhere. Everyone is just too horny and self-centered and seem to
care nothing more than getting laid.
Second, the
movie is composed mainly of immature characters who have no qualms about
consequences, values or setting an example. It was one thing when the prequels
involved highschool teenagers (although this is still not an excuse for
sluttiness). But it is totally disgusting to watch 30 something men – some
married, most holding a serious profession – trashing out their lives, getting
too drunk to remember to wear their pants and finding themselves in silly
situations where their marriage and reputation can be jeopardized over the
weekend.
And third,
although the ending provides a closure or resolution for each of the
characters’ conflicts, it does so with a flimsy twist that neither redeem their
previous actions or show hope that they are afterall respectable people just a
little late on the maturity department.
American Pie
Reunion has some good points though. It emphasizes fidelity in marriage and
actually celebrates the commitment given to each other despite odds and
challenges. Friendship and brotherhood resonate throughout the film. But sadly,
these messages are not enough to drown the disgusting storylines and
objectionable scenes.
