American Pie: Reunion

More pie please?

RELEASED  2 May 2012       CERTIFICATE  15  

DIRECTORS  John Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

CAST Seann William Scott, Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, Tara Reid, Alyson Hannigan, Eugene Levy

RUNNING TIME  113mins

PLOT Thirteen years on from their high school graduation, Jim (Biggs), Michelle (Hannigan), Kevin (Nicholas), Oz (Klein), Finch (Thomas), Stifler (Scott) and the rest of the East Great Falls High graduate gang return after thirteen years for their class reunion. Once back, they realise that although they’ve grown up to become adults with responsibilities, a glimmer of their past reignites the childish flames inside of them.

With slight reservations yet great expectations, American Pie: The Reunion surprisingly lives up to the intimidating and competitive older brother films – well, the most important role models (American Pie, American Pie 2 and American Pie The Wedding). As funny as ever, the cast deliver yet again especially with the first slice of Pie setting the bar high for all epic teen movies. The film gives the perfect ending to the American Pie collection that has defined teen movies since. With the original American Pie becoming a sex bible/survival guide of every hormonal teenagers life, Reunion is consistent with the theme but almost gives a sex/life guide to marriage and becoming an adult.

We continue to follow the lives of Jim, Kev, Oz, Finch and Stifler as they have grown up to become fully-fledged adults. Tackling the boring necessities of everyday adult life, Jim and Michelle (now sporting a toddler) have become the monotonous routine-led married couple who fail to remember the definition of the word sex. American Pie: Reunion remembers its ancestor movies by resurrecting long running jokes and situations from the previous films and applying them to the adult characters. Old flames are reignited between Oz and Heather (slightly predictable) and ongoing penis humour becomes the focal point and theme within the film. The cinnamon on the pie is a cheeky shot of Jim’s (Biggs) penis squashed against a transparent saucepan lid. No disappointments here!

Like most film franchises, American Pie: Reunion cannot stand alone without the American Piefamily. With the infamous pop-punk soundtracks throughout all the Pie movies, it would be foolish to not expect the same of Reunion. Although the film tries to adopt the epic soundtrack of its predecessors, an air loom passed down through the generations of American Pie, the soundtrack fails to enrage all teenagers with angst and anger at their oh-so nice parents who are too conservative to allow that tongue piercing that was necessary to your teen status.

To get the full experience of American Pie: Reunion, knowledge of the Pie films up to the Wedding is necessary, as seeded throughout are references to the older films. With appearances from the majority of the original cast, some of which have aged shockingly, the reunion is nostalgic of the original Pies. With the feeling that the cast have become the family close to the heart, it’s sad to see that the East Great Falls High graduates have flown the nest and embarked on adult life (a boring and sad reality that happens to all).

VERDICT

Although the pie’s been left out for too long, surprisingly it still tastes as fresh as ever. Yet another slice of newly baked pie that leaves a hunger for more. Yummy yum yum.