By Ricardo Baca By Ricardo Baca ADVERTISING The Denver Post Are we surprised that “American Reunion” — the latest in the surprisingly lasting “American Pie” series — starts with a dual masturbatory scene? Are we surprised young women in bikinis,
By Ricardo Baca
The Denver Post
Are we surprised that “American Reunion” — the latest in the surprisingly lasting “American Pie” series — starts with a dual masturbatory scene? Are we surprised young women in bikinis, lingerie and much less dominate many of the film’s familiar shots? Or that Stifler (Seann William Scott) rocks an “Orgasm Donor” T-shirt throughout a lengthy scene? Or that the film is rated R for crude and sexual content, nudity, language, drug use and teen drinking?
Of course we aren’t. After multiple sequels, we know better because we’ve watched this gang grow up. The embarrassing viral video. The subgenre-defining antics. The testosterone-driven, over-the-top parties. And the more grown-up stuff, too, like getting married. (Remember “American Wedding”? Didn’t think so.)
But as formulaic as “American Reunion” is — and as unchanged as its characters remain — the movie has more value than “The Hangover Part II.” You know what’s going to happen before you buy your popcorn: A high school reunion, dotted with mishaps, ridiculousness, old romances and male bonding. But where the “Hangover” sequel lost its heart in Thailand, this all-“American” gang finds its footing in the same houses and high schools of its past.
Fans of the franchise will remember that Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are married — and now they have a 2-year-old and the non-existent sex life that comes along with the tyke. As the pals reconvene for the postponed reunion, Oz (Chris Klein) is a sportscaster with newfound stardom via a “Dancing With the Stars”-like show, and Stifler is a grunt at a financial powerhouse.
There are other characters — Tara Reid’s Vicky, Thomas Ian Nicholas’ Kevin, Mena Suvari’s Heather, Eddie Kaye Thomas’ Finch — and they’re all here. But let’s take this opportunity to talk about Stifler, who remains a modern marvel — and the only reason this franchise ever lasted beyond the second film.
Stifler is awful. He’s obnoxious. He’s a horndog. And he’s lovable — the heart and spirit of the series, believe it or not. And Scott is in delightful form here, from his condescending fake laughs to his devious asides — never straying all that far from his frenzied “Dude, Where’s My Car” persona.
Yes, “American Reunion” is a juvenile outing. They steal jet skis and defecate in beer coolers. They cheat on their girlfriends and lie to their best friends.
But what did you expect?
There is a cringe-inducing sub-plot of a neighbor kid grown up, 18-year-old Kara (Ali Cobrin), who wants to lose her virginity to her former babysitter, the now-married Jim. She doesn’t care about his wife and kid. She won’t tell a soul. And when she gets drunk at a party and snags a ride home with Jim, she takes off her dress and remains topless for an uncomfortable stint that has her knocked unconscious, dragged around (still topless) like a rag doll and eventually deposited safely in her bed.
It’s an indelicate, uncomfortable scene — one that (surprisingly) barely involves the series’ primary offender, Stifler. Shame on the writers. Not that we expect good taste from them. But certain parts of that sequence stooped lower than expected.
Other than that, the writing is what you’d expect — with a couple key romantic turns you might not expect.
It’s not giving away too much to say that the bedroom scenes between Stifler’s Mom (Jennifer Coolidge) and Jim’s Dad (Eugene Levy) are inspired — and Stifler’s revenge at the end of the film is also a fitting, well-played twist.
Two-and-a-half stars out of four.
