American Reunion Film Review

To those of us who grew up in the nineties we will remember a little film called American Pie and a few of us myself included would have followed this franchise threw the highs of it's theatrical films and the really lows of the many direct to DVD films. Yet there is one film that alot of us really do seem to forget and that's the fact that they did make a fourth theatrical film with it being that very film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today and so then join me as I review that really is to date the final theatrically released American Pie film with the film in question being called simply "American Reunion" enjoy.

The plot of this film is Jim his wife Michelle and all of their friends return to East Great Falls for there High School reunion. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. This films plot is one that is simple but delightfully so as these films are at the very least the theatrically released films have always touched upon significant moments in a young person's life and with this film doing the same thing it really didn't need to have a deep and complicated plot it rather it just needed something that was simple as that's where these films are allowed to shine. Would have helped this film if this film did have a more deeper and thought provoking plot to it yes of course it would but not every film needs that and these American Pie films are good examples of that as with all of these films having more simple and easy to follow plots it does allow for the characters to take centre stage more and it allows them to be there quite charming selves and because of that these films are more memorable whereas if this film did have a more complicated plot to it then it would be going against what was done in the previous films and it wouldn't feel like a true American Pie film as it would have all of the iconic characters there but they would be forced to play second fiddle to the films plot where as here it does come across as both the plot and the characters working together to create something that does feel more true to the spirit of that original film with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is one of this films executive producers Jason Biggs as Jim Levenstein and Alyson Hannigan as Michelle Flaherty. Also starring in this film is Chris Klein as Chris "Oz" Ostreicher , Thomas Ian Nicholas as Kevin Myers , one of this films executive producers Seann William Scott as Steven "Steve" Stifler , Eddie Kaye Thomas as Paul Finch , Eugene Levy as Noah Levenstein , Tara Reid as Vicky Lathum , Mena Suvari as Heather Gardner , John Cho as MILF Guy 2 , Jennifer Coolidge as Jeanine Stifler , Natasha Lyonne as Jessica , Dania Ramirez as Selena , Katrina Bowden as Mia , Jay Harrington as Dr. Ron , Ali Cobrin as Kara , Chuck Hittinger as AJ , Shannon Elizabeth as Nadia , Chris Owen as Sherman , Justin Isfeld as MILF Guy 1 , Charlene Amoia as Ellie , Vik Sahay as Prateek Duraiswamy , Neil Patrick Harris as Celebrity Dance-Off Host , Chad Ochocinco as Himself and Rebecca De Mornay as Rachel Finch.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. The thing that does make alot of this films acting be as good as it is in the first place is the fact that alot of the actors in this fil are all reprising their roles from the original film and they would therefor of course no how best to perform there respective characters with this being something that does shine through in the film as alot of the films more weaker performances does come from the films more newer actors as for the legacy actors this is exactly that its there legacy and therefor they do want to turn in a performance that honors that and yet with the films new actors its just another job to them and there treating as such. With the films best actor being Eugene Levy as Noah Levenstein as while the rest of the actors get more of the films dramatic moments and the comedy moments Eugene really only gets the films more comedic moments and he really does nail it each and every time with it bein made clear as day the reason why alot of the direct to DVD films kept on brining him back as he is one of the most underrated actors in this franchise and this film does give him his chance and may god does he take advantage of it. With the acting that's in this film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films absolutely anything to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters performances are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

If you liked the characters in the previous theatrically released American Pie films then get ready to love them again. As they all pretty much exactly the same as they were by the end of the third film with this being something that for a character like Stifler for example does make sense as he was the kid who peaked in high school but then struggled when out in the real world therefor he would of course stay the same as that's what made him popular back in high school yet with all of the characters you do get to see that alot of them have matured in other ways but also stayed the same in others as gone are the parties and late nights and in are staying at home with the wife or girlfriend just watching TV. This is something that does make sense as when we get older we don't like to do alot of the stuff that we did in high school and we do just want to spend a quiet night in just watching tv or reading a good book for example but at the same time alot of us do have moments where we do show of a bit of our former wild side by doing something stupid and that is something that we get to see these characters not only struggle with but also adapt to in the process. Due to the fact that take Jim for example not only does he have a wife but he also has a two year old son and therefor he can't spend every night going out and partying with his friends and the film does show him struggle to find that balance once Stifler re-enters his life and with both Oz and Kevin having girlfriends we do get to see two different sides of the same coin as they both secretly long for there high school sweet hearts but while Oz does eventually get back together with Heather Kevil realises that he really does love his wife and accepts the fact that he and Vicky will never be anything more then just goo friends and when it comes to Finch he has to try and tell the truth about what he's really been up to since the third film.

In what was an unexpected move they do straight up address the fact that Oz wasn't in the third film by having him say to Jim that he might have missed his wedding but he's not missing the reunion. This was something that the makers of the film didn't really need to do as most people wouldn't have even thought about him not being in the third film in the slightest due to the fact that we did have a slew of direct to DVD spin-off films released after that film in the first place but it was something that does show you that the makers of this film did do there research into the film and weren't just willing to take just the film as canon. As while yes there are nods and winks to that first film there's shockingly not alot of them with the film being more focused on getting this franchise back to its more grounded routes by having it be about something that alot of Americans do go through and by about not only showing us what these characters have been up since college in this case but also how they've changed and how there lives have changed either for the better or for the worse and that is something that these films do do really well as yes there are bunch of adult jokes in all of these films but at the heart of the theatrically released films is the fact that there all a tale about the bonds of friendship an how those do change over the years as whoever your best friend is in high school might not be your best friend ten years later and that's OK as sometimes we do grow up and grow apart from each other and this film did do a good job of showing us whilst also tipping it's hat not only to that third film but also the first spin off film which again was something that they didn't need to do but it's something that the makers of this film went and did because of there clear love for the series.

One of the many things that they did in this film that just straight up doesn't work is the fact that they have the guys teach Stifler the exact same lesson that they tought him in the third film. Which is just lazy writing as it's nothing more then an excuse as to get Stifler back to way that people remember him being in the first film and all that does is just ignore the fact that the man did help to save the day in American Wedding when it was him that pulled an all nighter to make sure that Jim and Michelle's wedding went off perfectly and yet here in this film they still have him be the same party loving guy that he was in the first and second film all for no reason which just makes you wonder why they went this route with the character in the first place. While yes it could argued that since Stifler was the kid who peaked in high school and is now struggling in the real world that still doesn't excuse the fact that he learned not be as much of a bad person and even worse is the fact that Jim and the guys know that when push comes to shove Stifler really does care about them as he does go the extra mile alot of the time to fix his own mistakes and they know this because they've all seen him do it and yet Jim in this film says that they were never really friends due to how he acted and all that does is make Jim look like the bad guy. All of this is something that could have been fixed by having Stifler acting like his old self due to the fact that his love interest in the third film had left him recently with hi acting like he did in high school as a way to cope with the breakup with him not wanting to tell the guys what's happened due to the fact that he doesn't want to accept it himself this is something that would honor the growth that went through in the third film and would make Jim and the rest of guys feel like that they really are Stiflers best friends in the process. 

Perhaps the most interesting character that did have the most interesting life after high school is Paul Finch. As according to what he says neat the start of this film he's good as well spent the best part of his after high school life travelling the world and having all of these different adventures all the while secretly trying to find true love and yet as we find out at the end of the films second act that is a complete lie and he's actually just git a boring life and works as a retail manager with him stealing his bosses motorcycle as a way to get revenge on how badly the boss treated him, this is something that does work for the character in the respect that it does show you that just because you have high intelligence and a drive to want to achieve success it doesn't always mean that you will do and that's OK. Yet it is also something that does work against the film as it did rob of us having one of the characters have this really adventurous after high school life all for the sake of the friends having a moment together with that moment being built on lies as Paul did still lie to them about what he's really been up to and while the joke about how he got the mark on his arm is pretty funny it doesn't change the fact that he did still openly lie to his friends , love interest and possibly even his own mother just because he was embarrassed by what he does for a living heck it doesn't make sense for a character like Paul to have a retail job as if anything it would have worked all the more better if it was Stifler that got that kind of job as nine times out of ten the kids who peak in high school don't get that good of a job when there out in the real world if anything Paul should have had a job at the place where Stifler works as then they could still do the but where Paul steals the guys motorcycle.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fifty three minuets and fifty one seconds. This is a really solid running time for this film as the film not only has to tell us just what it is that all of the characters have been up since American Wedding in alot of cases and in some cases the second film but the film also has to tell a good story in it's own right and that is something that would have been hard for the film to do if the film was even ten minuets shorter of course this is helped by the fact that this review is being based off of the unrated version of the film but even the theatrical cut of the film is just under one hour and forty five minuets long with this film even having the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. However tho this film really doesn't use its running time wisely as the film doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot with the film being more focused in telling us just what the guys have been up to rather then giving us a more well developed plot and while this is understandable due to the fact that we do need to catch up with these characters but at the same time alot of the time it does take up screen time that could have been used in adding things to the films plot that would have made the plot of the film feel more well developed and thought out. This is something that does also effect the films character development as the characters are left with so little screen time to get there character development that the film just straight up doesn't give alot of them any with the only character that gets development being Stifler himself and even then he's just learning the same thing that he learned in the previous film but due to the fact that the film is more focused in giving us alot of pointless cameos from other stars of the first film then it does mean that the characters can't get the development that they really needed but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. The fact that this films comedy is as good as it is is not really something that's all that surprising as when these films do tell a funny joke they can tell a really good joke but sadly tho this is somewhere this film does again faulter as the film does have alot of really bad jokes in it all of which even for this film do feel childish with one of them even for Stifler being really gross and just plain weird. With the best joke in the whole entire film being when Stifler finally gets back at Paul for something that that character does do in the first film and it's something that won't be said here but if you've seen any of the theatrically released American Pie films you'll know that there's a running joke involving something that Paul did to Stiflers Mom and well in this film they have Stifler do the exact same thing to Paul's mom and in typical Stifler fashion he does take great pride in making fun of a blissfully unaware Paul of what it is that's happened which is something that does make there little running joke with each other all the more better as now they are both even with each other and seeing Stifler just take the mickey out of Paul after the fact was a really good idea as it is something that this character would do and therefor it does feel like a joke that is perfectly in character for him with the rest of this films jokes being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall while there would be the dreadful American Pie Presents: Girls Rules film that came out in 2020 this film is for alot of people the last film in this franchise as this film does recapture just what it is that made the first film so special in the first place and while it does have its flaws it is a perfectly enjoyable film in its own right in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 5.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images tat I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images really from this very film being the really great Google Images this is really because of the fact that really all of the images that I really indeed got and really used from Google Images are all really high quality really with all of the images that really are all and of course really currently up and on the really great and the really solid Google Images really are all being really fairly high in quality and as well as them all really being fairly high in definition.