In 1999, American Pie
was a smash hit thanks to an assortment of lowbrow gags that have become ensconced
into pop culture consciousness. Movie fans will never forget the sight of Jason
Biggs humping a warm apple pie or the shapely Shannon Elizabeth stripping to
her undies. Universal certainly raked it in as the film made over $235 million
worldwide off a scant $11 million budget. The studio was quick to strike while
the iron was hot with two sequels and a string of direct-to-video spinoffs with
Eugene Levy as the only original cast member. After nine years since the last Pie picture was released theatrically,
Universal resurrects the franchise with American
Reunion.
Jim (Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are happily
married with a son, but find it difficult to be intimate with one another.
Following in the tradition of its predecessors, Reunion opens with the hapless Jim caught in an embarrassing
situation as he attempts to pleasure himself. The couple hopes that their
upcoming thirteenth high school reunion will give them a chance to reignite the
flame. By the way, I know tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth anniversary reunions
are a thing, but the thirteenth doesn't seem that big a deal. In any event,
Jim is excited to see all his old buddies again. His plans are crimped when he
has to fend off the amorous advances of Kara (Ali Cobrin), a high school senior
he once babysat.
Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) has become a successful architect
and a slightly domesticated husband. Oz (Chris Klein) is now an NFL analyst
for a cable sports network with a young supermodel girlfriend in Mia (Katrina
Bowden). He's also the butt of a few jokes for his appearance on a Dancing with the Stars-type reality
show. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) dropped off the radar, but returns just in time
with tales of traveling the world. Then, there's Stifler (Seann William Scott),
who the others have been trying to avoid because he hasn't changed much.
Nearly everyone from the first film has returned in some
small fashion with John Cho & Justin Isfeld as the MILF Guys, Chris Owen as
the Sherminator, Natasha Lyonne as Jessica, and Shannon Elizabeth as Nadia.
They are joined by new cast members Dania Ramirez, as a former band geek turned
hottie, and Rebecca De Mornay (who still looks stunning at 52) as Finch's Mom.
The reins of the franchise have been handed off to Jon
Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the writers behind the Harold & Kumar series. If anyone knows potty humor, it's them.
However, the jokes just aren't funny or as outrageous as previous installments
or even movies like 21 Jump Street or
Knocked Up. Time has just passed them
by. We get the requisite boob shots when Jim is forced to sneak an unconscious
and naked Kara into her house without her parents knowing. Another prominent
gag finds Stifler defecating into a cooler.
This wouldn't be too much of a problem if the character
moments had any semblance of depth. Poor Thomas Ian Nicholas generally gets the
short end of the stick as the writers struggle to find anything interesting for
his character. In a rehash of American Pie 2, Kevin has an awkward encounter with his ex, Vicky (Tara Reid). Oz
goes through the same thing with his former flame, Heather (Mena Suvari). These
storylines highlight just how terribly written the female characters are in Reunion. They are either thinly drawn
lovesick girls or nymphomaniac party skanks with the exception of Alyson
Hannigan, who really deserves better. The one B-story that yields some fruit
belongs to Levy as Jim's Dad, who looks to get back into the singles game
following the death of his wife. He winds up romancing the original MILF,
Stifler's Mom (Jennifer Coolidge).
As Thomas Wolfe once wrote, "You can't go home again."
The central theme of American Reunion
is all about living in the present without looking back at the past through
rose-colored lenses. If only the filmmakers took those same lessons to heart,
then we wouldn't get this bland and humorless sequel that simply did not need
to be made.
Rating: * ½ (*****)
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