As the fourth movie in the “American Pie” series, “American Reunion” follows its predecessors with all its antics, quirks and extreme exaggerations of the life of a once fun, now boring, generally average person. But unlike the rest of the once-fun American Pie franchise, “Reunion” generally sucks.
The film follows the troubles of a struggling couple, Jim and Michelle Levenstein (Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan).
With a basically nonexistent sex life and a failing romance, Jim and Michelle’s worlds are changed when they return to their origins in East Great Falls, Mich., for their high school reunion.
As Jim comes home, he is reunited with old friends whose lives have radically changed since graduation.
Yet, as they begin to reconnect, the realization becomes blatant that nothing has changed between them.
The chaos that results from Jim’s visit to Steve Stifler’s (Seann William Scott) so-called “party,” with its menial conversations and unenthusiastic guests, reflects the true nature of the franchise. “American Reunion” is outdated, and if the string of straight-to-video releases wasn’t already an indication, the series is past its prime.
Jason Biggs does a decent job portraying the antiquated personality of Jim Levenstein alongside the versatile acting of Alyson Hannigan.
Surprisingly, the supporting cast did well in playing the roles they are supposed to fill as part of American Pie’s version of raunchy comedy.
Ultimately, “American Reunion” is a sad waste of time. Without its title in relation to the “American Pie” series, it would just be another cliched high school reunion story.
Let’s just hope that the cast of “American Reunion” never again reunites to make a fifth movie and instead tries to focus on what the average person actually has to do: grow up.
American Reunion
Dive Verdict: 1.5 of 5 stars
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