American Reunion (2012)
Brief review: Back in 1999, the sexually-charged teen comedy, "American Pie", was a huge hit, and still remains as a classic. Well, sort of. It was followed by two hugely successful sequels in 2001 and 2003, and now in 2012 it's time for the "Reunion". Even though it has written nostalgia all over it, this forth sequels fails to meet expectations big time. The hardcore fans of the franchise won't mind the same old jokes, immature behavior and embarrassing situations, but for the rest of the audience, the "American Reunion" doesn't offer anything new, fresh, clever and even remotely original script-wise. Yes, there are a couple of hilarious scenes, and one or two laugh-out-loud moments, but overall there's no wit whatsoever. On the other hand, "American Reunion" kind of redeems itself near the end with an unexpectedly sweet, touching and heartwarming conclusion, that will put a smile on your face, plus, it features the long awaited 'sex revenge' of Stifler, that has something to do with one of the other characters' 'MILF' mom. Despite their age, the grown-up characters are still immature and horny, and haven't changed a bit. Jason Biggs still has that charming awkwardness about him, Chris Klein and Thomas Ian Nicholas are watchable at best, Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari and Dania Ramirez are all likable as the girls, but Seann William Scott still plays the same annoying, silly jerk.
Overall summary: The last 20 minutes are surprisingly heartfelt, but apart from that, "American Reunion" is just a derivative, mildly funny installment, that would appeal only to the nostalgic fans of the franchise, who would be happy to have more of the same juvenile stuff.
20 comments:
As a fan of all 8 American Pie movies I cut this more slack, enjoying it quite a bit. Just seeing everybody back was fun, and I thought they did a nice job with it. But there you go.
I really can't see myself getting excited about this film. From what you said, it's what you expect from the third sequel in a franchise and not much more.
- Maurice Mitchell
The Geek Twins | Film Sketchr
@thegeektwins | @mauricem1972
I never really cared for the first one, so this will not be going into my NetFlix queue.
The problem I've always had with the American Pie series is the character of Stifler - so annoying, so stupid and always the focus of the feature. All of the other, more likable characters, are not allowed to develop because the series chooses to always highlight the ridiculous antics of Stifler.
I'm still not sure if I should see it. I love the first 3 parts, saw them all in theater.
I was quite excited when I heard about Reunion, sadly the trailers all look somewhat mediocre...
I recently saw the original American Pie again, and didn't think it had aged well. Probably something to do with me being 13 years older, but all the characters fairly annoyed me.
What a grumpy old man I've become!
Craig, you must be one of those die-hard fans of the franchise. :)
It was okay, but not particularly funny, nor very original. The original is still good though.
Maurice, I wasn't excited about it either. It was exactly what I expected it to be - watchable, but a bit meh :)
Alex, I kinda enjoyed the first one, but all the sequels were mediocre at best.
Alex Jowski, well-said, and I couldn't agree more with you about Stifler. He's super-annoying!
Maynard, it IS mediocre, but if you're a true fan of the series, you may end up liking it. :)
Russ, LOL.
Don't worry, mate, i perfectly understand what you mean. I've become a bit grumpy as well, and most of the characters in the series are fairly annoying, that's for sure.
I loved the series, so I'm thinking I will see this, but not at the theater. Nothing explodes, shoots lasers, kills in a gory fashion nor does it star Johnny Depp or Chris Hemsworth. LOL Hey I gotta have criteria at these prices. There's only one kidney I can sell after all. ;)
Mel, then you should definitely check this sequel out. It's not worth-seeing on the big screen that's for sure. I would watch The Avengers for third time in a row, instead of paying to see this ho-hum comedy.
Of course you got to have a criteria. One kidney? Really? What happened to the other one?:)
LOL I still have both, but I figure I gotta keep at least one functioning kidney for myself. ;)
Mel, thank God. I thought one of them has already gone. :)
Don't sacrifice any of your organs, please. :)
Oh! Being a kid again :)
FilmPuff, well, kind of. :)
saw it yesterday, enjoyed it a bit more than you (I laughed my ass off in the first half), but sadly, it's definitely the weakest of the original AP flicks. Weak second half, disappointing ending.
Maynard, I didn't laugh that much, because I just didn't find it very funny. :) Previous installment was better IMO. Weak second half? Are you kidding me? That was the best part of the movie.
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