American Pie followed four young high school students as they tossed their wild oats to the wind in a last ditch effort to enter college without their virginity. The mix of gross out comedy and spirited coming-of-age school nostalgia was infectious, instantly igniting film careers and spurning several sequels with diminishing returns, until American Reunion…

Most high school reunions happen a decade after school andAmerican Reunion comes 13 years after the freshly baked American Pie in 1999. The most amazing part of this reboot is that the cast have all returned to East Great Falls, Michigan to give some closure to their much loved characters at the hands of Harold & Kumar writer-drirectors, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. Is the full turn out a testament to the cast’s chemistry, a tribute to character loyalty or a full circle for their promising film careers? Probably all of the above.

Although you can’t help but wonder how easily producers were able to lure these actors back, considering the range of success each actor achieved post-American Pie. Seann William Scott is arguably the biggest name star on-board forAmerican Reunion. It’s quite ironic that one of the supporting acts gets the glory, but American Reunion just wouldn’t be a classic American Pie sequel without the toxic and funny character that is Stifler.

In fact, American Pie wouldn’t feel the same without any of its lovable characters: Jim (Biggs) the unassuming likable lead, Michelle (Hannigan) the quirky red head from band camp, Oz (Klein) the vain sports jock, Finch (Thomas) the philosophical dark horse, Jim’s dad (Levy) the all too awkward funny-duddy and of course the MILF known as Stifler’s mom (Coolidge). It really is a welcome return for the characters who last featured in American Wedding.

“Gentlemen, that 10 year plan really paid off…”

This time around… each of the characters brings their dating history to the party. Jim’s married and going through a bit of a slump with Michelle. Oz is a sports presenter, whose hedonistic girlfriend is no match for his high school sweetheart. The legend of Finch is catching an overdue reality check, Kevin is getting mixed messages from his ex-girlfriend Vicky and Stifler is learning to stand up for himself instead of being someone else’s bitch.

Each character is going through some kind of transition and the screenwriters have accounted for everyone, even Jim’s dad, who is trying to get back out there after his wife’s passing. There’s a real history here and to the cast’s credit they manage to act as if they continue to exist beyond the celluloid. The in-your-face shock comedy features some surprising full frontal nudity and a bit of tasteless toilet humour. Yet, eases off as we cut to the heart of the story between Jim and Michelle.

The series continues with several formulaic bits with familiar echoes from previous chapters and a playlist of ’90s college favourites from the American Pie soundtrack. An embarrassing sequence involving a misunderstanding between Jim and teenage girl with a crush, another couple of awkward chats with Jim’s dad and the usual shenanigans at the reunion all play back into the somewhat predictable world of American Pie.

“That SUCKS! No wonder everyone calls you Jim’s dad.”

Let’s be honest though, there wasn’t much room for the film-makers to stray. The lore of American Pie dictates how the film proceeds and with so many characters, the series could easily become a TV series. To jam-pack the histories, egos and chemistry of a cast that owe much of their careers to the legacy of American Pie is quite a feat and to this end… Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg have done their jobs well.

The standard for the past American Pie entries may have deteriorated with some straight-to-video knock-offs, but this sequel has self-respect and delivers more of the same much like the reboot to Wes Craven’s ’90s slasher Scream 4. The “same” being a sometimes gross, always entertaining, dull familiarity, tongue-in-cheek foray into the world and lives of the fun characters we grew up with. They all get a chance to say hello and wave goodbye as the series bows out.

The bottom line: Familiar

Release Date: 5 April, 2012

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