Tagged: Shannon Elizabeth
American Reunion (2012)
At least my high school reunion won’t be filled with so many pervs. Then again, it probably will.
As you would expect, the plot revolves around the characters getting together for their 10-year high school reunion and struggling against the expectations of adult life. Oh, and there’s Jim’s dad being a total goof.
So after all this time of reviewing all of the past MAIN sequels (not those piece of crap straight-to-dvd flicks), I have to say that I was pretty stoked for this one. I loved all of these characters, wanted to see more of them, and finally got the chance to see them all together once again for their last hurrah and I’m glad to see this, because for some odd reason I have a feeling they’ll be back.
With an ‘American Pie’ flick, you have to realize what you’re getting yourself into right away. Yes, there will be gross-out jokes, there will be a lot of sex jokes, and there will be some way of ladies showing off some T&A. With this latest edition, the film delivers on many of the gross-out jokes as most of them hit with big laughs, while others just get a mild chuckle or two, but that’s better than no chuckle….or two. It was also funny to see this film poke fun at the high schools that we have in today’s world against theirs, and just barely different they are, except for the fact that these kids today are a lot more of assholes than maybe the ‘Pie’ gang was. No, I’m not including Stifler.
People coming in and expecting a whole bunch of emotional and sympathetic moments as if it was a reunion flick like say, ‘The Big Chill’, are in for a big surprise because not much of that is here but when it does come around, it’s surprisingly very good. The film shows us where life takes us sometimes and even though we may not be right there with one another, we all still should be there for each other in spirit. Maybe that was a little bit too weird for this review but you know what I mean. It’s just good to have a reunion flick that at least touches on something sympathetic for the most part even though it’s definitely not as good as the first one in that department.
The problem with this flick is that it is close to two hours, which may be a bit of a stretch even for a flick that is getting back all of its characters. With a tight ninety minutes, this film would have been able to deliver all of the goods on the comedic and sympathetic level, but with this close to two hour run-time, everything starts to feel a bit bloated. There were some subplots that didn’t really need to be around here such as Jim and his neighbor and Finch having problems with his life by the end, but there was still enough to fall back on so that’s all that counts.
Another problem I also felt like a lot of the jokes that they used were a little too centered towards jokes of the past movies, and sometimes they were even reused here again. I don’t know how hard it is to come up with a new dick, ass, or sex joke but once you have to start copying from your own franchise, then it starts to get a little lame but thankfully it’s not a constant or else I would have probably been rolling my eyes the whole time.
Still, when it was all said and done, this flick just made me happy to see the whole gang back together once again. Not much of these characters have grown from the last times we’ve all seen them, but they are still as fun and as lovable as they were then. Jim and Michelle are still married but are also having sexy time problems; Oz is a TV sports writer who appeared on Dancing with the Stars; Kevin is now a stay-at-home husband; Finch is as exotic and cool as he has ever been in any of the past flicks; and of course, Stifler is still a dick head amongst other things. They are all great here doing what they do best, especially Klein who actually found himself on the other end of the joke, which was a real change-up in things from the first two flicks. Oh yeah, and Eugene Levy is back as Jim’s dad and he’s just hilarious. Honestly, what else can you say about him? As for the ladies, they are all back too and make their presence known. Tara Reid is still foxy and trying her hardest to act as Vicky; Mena Suvari looks better now, than she did back then as Heather; and we also get to see Nadia back but this time, with a top on so it was a major bummer this time around. It’s just so great to see everyone back here and hangin’ around again considering all of these cast members are friends in real life so it makes this reunion all the more fun.
Consensus: Though it can drag on too long, American Reunion is still a great way to bring back the lovable and original cast with its usual, funny humor and some ounce of sympathy that makes us feel more about what may happen to us in the future and what we may be seeing at our next high school reunion. But it’s also great to just see all of the characters and cast return, especially if you loved the original American Pie.
7.5/10=Rental!!
American Pie 2 (2001)
Bigger and badder, but surprisingly no pastries were harmed.
After a year apart – attending different schools, meeting different people – the guys rent a beach house and vow to make this the best summer ever. As it turns out, whether that will happen or not has a lot to do with the girls.
The original is by far a classic by all means and a favorite of mine so when I was going to see this one again, I was expecting something all the same but still enjoyable enough to not hate. Thankfully, I didn’t hate it this time around but damn is it like all other sequels.
The one element about sequels is that they always do everything that they did with the original, but instead do more of that because the more the merrier, right? Well, in some cases it works here but other times, I think they really dragged on with this flick and it’s jokes. The first one was crude, but at least the crudeness came in and did its thing and made me laugh. Here, they came in, lingered around for awhile and waited till the joke was practically dead in the water and then they just gave up and went onto another scene. I can’t be too surprised considering most Hollywood sequels do this but still, it’s something that’s noticeable right away.
I’ll also point out that everything else from the characters, to the plots, to the relationships, all seemed a bit under-developed with the exception of the main relationship between Jim and Michelle. I already knew all of these characters for what all that they are and were from the first flick, so I didn’t need that much character development but there was barely any of that and instead of actually focusing on these characters, the film felt it was more important to just focus on the gross-out gags that go on way too long sometimes. And I don’t know if it was me, but did anybody else feel like all of this partying could have been much more exciting than it actually was? Then again, it’s just a thought so don’t mind me.
However, as much ish as I may be talking here I still had an enjoyable with this flick mainly because the parts that did work, really worked. There are a couple of gross-out gags that really made me laugh and there are plenty of other moments full of comedy that made me laugh just because it’s a bunch of young dudes partying, drinking, and trying to pick up girls. It’s all in good fun and there’s a couple of moments that are very memorable such as when Jim gets glue and lube mixed up, and another time where Stifler and Jim have to do a little version of “shadow” between a couple of “lesbians”. It’s all funny, trust me, even if it does seem a bit too much like a Farrelly Brothers comedy.
I also liked the focus on Jim and Michelle’s relationship that I thought made the film so much better every time they were on-screen together and I was glad that they actually did decide to go down this road. It’s such a sweet, little romance that works because they are both geeks and it’s just great to see two geeks in love even if the one is a total freak in bed and the other is just a dude who can’t seem to do anything right when it comes to getting it on. But it’s not all about the sex, it’s all about the love between two people that matters and you could feel it with this flick and it sure is believable.
As for the cast, everybody here has returned and all do great jobs with their own, respective roles. Seann William Scott gets a lot more screen-time here as Stifler and made me laugh just about every time and is definitely that one kid you would invite down to the shore with you because he has all of the moolah in the world. However, it’s great to see everybody all be friendly with each other once again and it totally serves up the whole point about this film about how we all change but we should all stick together and keep in touch. Maybe there was no point to this flick after all, but it’s always good to look in a lot more than you would expect.
Consensus: American Pie 2 features an over-abundance of what the first one did and starts to drag a lot, but the moments that worked, really made me laugh, and it was just also great to see the cast all back together doing what they do best with these likable characters.
5.5/10=Rental!!
American Pie (1999)
Main reasons as to why I’m letting my senior year go out with a bang!
A group of four horny high school buddies decide to make a pact in which they all plan to lose their virginities before the high school prom. In their valiant quest for getting their collective rocks off, the boys get into all kinds of trouble and wildly unpredictable hilarity ensues.
Since the reunion of this famous high school film series is coming up some time soon, I thought what better way to take a trip down memory lane and make me realize how much I’m going to miss my days as a high schooler.
One of the main reasons why ‘American Pie’ is considered the classic that it is today is because it’s a teen sex comedy flick that doesn’t have us forget that and makes no apologies for it either. I mean this is one of those high school comedies where there is just so much raunch, gross-out visual gags, and obvious sex jokes that for the biggest stickler to dirty stuff will probably piss away this flick, but for the horned-up, sex-crazed teenager like myself and plenty of other ones out there too, I loved it. The jokes are dirty, yes, but they are also hilarious and with every situation that seemed to get even funnier and grosser just as the film went on where it felt like these guys could pull anything out of their ass, and they probably would too. It’s definitely one of those raunchy comedies that are for a certain audience, but if you are that audience, you will have an absolute ball. Hell, try to guess what the title is actually about! I can tell you it’s not named after that Don McLean song.
Probably what’s so much better about this flick apart from it’s gross-out comedy stuff is the fact that it does a pretty realistic job at capturing just what it’s like to be in high school. The essence is here in every scene such as when you feel peer-pressured into doing such things as sex with a major babe or taking a couple of brewskies, and even those moments with the other high school classmate that are just awkward beyond belief but at the time you’re not really thinking and you don’t care either way. Being in high school myself right now (as you could have probably already assumed), this one hit close to home with me because I could identify with everything that these characters were going through and it just felt honest, real, but also totally hilarious in just how everything played out and the film never loses that funny edge to it.
But you don’t even need to be in high school at the present time to fully enjoy it, all you have to do is remember all of the people that made up your best (and sometimes worst) moments of high school and also the other little people in between like the skanks, or the jocks, or the weirdos, or even the parents that always seem to be up your ass trying to pep you up about sex and tell you what’s right and what isn’t. It’s all so true and the way that first-time director Paul Weitz was able to show this makes it even better considering it brought back the high school teen sex comedy back from the grave that it was in for so damn long.
Another great aspect of this film is that its characters aren’t terribly unlikable pieces of shit that you wouldn’t want to even sit next to in class, let alone spend a whole hour and 36 minutes with, they are actually sweet characters that you care for and want to be around more and more. Jason Biggs is perhaps the most impressive here as Jim because he totally just lets himself loose, degrading himself on countless occasions just to do anything for a quick laugh and it always had me laughing my ass off. He’s also incredibly nerdy which gave me that type of idea that he’s like what Woody Allen would be like in a comedy like ‘Porky’s‘. His dad, played by the always funny Eugene Levy, is also hilarious and the father-son duo they got going on here works because it feels so real in a very funny way.
Everybody else in the cast is great too and every character is just worth mentioning because they all add something to the film that makes it what it is known as today. Chris Klein is perfect as the sensitive jock, Oz; Eddie Kaye Thomas is funny as the sophiscated and high-standard type known as Finch; Thomas Ian Nicholas is good as the inspired virgin, Kevin; Alyson Hannigan is so damn cute and charming as the band weenie, Michelle, and easily brings out the best moments in the flick; Natasha Lyonne is hip and cool as the chick who knows everything about anything, Jessica; Mena Survari is nice as the sweet choir singer, Heather; and Tara Reid is just fine as Vicky. Oh yeah let’s not forget to mention that the biggest high light of this flick is probably every time Seann William Scott shows up as Steve Stifler, but you know what? There’s nothing else that needs to be said about just how amazing of a character this dude is and how great Scott is at playing him considering he plays the same character just about in every movie now.
Also, can’t forget to mention Shannon Elizabeth either but I think we all know why I can’t forget. Rawrrrrr!
Consensus: American Pie may not be for the more older/sophisticated types but who it is for, works in every single way from it’s acting, to its gross-out gags, humor, atmosphere, embarrassing reality of what it’s like to be in high school, and also will probably bring you back to thinking about the days of you and your pals in the day and all of the people who made it what it was.
9/10=Full Price!!
