The original cast are back for the latest addition of the American Pie series.
The first problem with this film, is that the humour hasn’t grown up with the characters. So we see the same jokes and irresponsible behaviour being repeated, except when the characters age bracket is added to the equation it goes from entertaining to slightly weird and uncomfortable. It does make you question, how even after over a decade of life experience these character still haven’t managed to learn vital skills to avoid the awkward situations they put themselves into.
Then of course you try and relate it to… well anything and you just can’t. I can’t say I have ever heard of a married couple attending a reunion party and dressing up in bondage to ‘spark’ their sexually stunted relationship, but alas frustrated Jim and Michelle do. Mainly due to the fact that Jim would rather be out playing with his friends than trying to repair his marriage, by staying in for all of one night over the reunion weekend. Then of course it gets worse and the crush of a teenage girl that Jim used to baby-sit (Kara) is added to the mix.　
Now the awkward situations come forward in leaps and bounds but of course no American sequel would be the same without the typical and expected progression of the characters. ‘The jock’ goes from high school sports star to a sports TV personality and of course has been given a model girlfriend. It also wasn’t surprising that the irritating, crude 'playboy' is still interning and living at home in his early thirties and the ‘in touch with his feminine side’ guy is now a 'loyal' house husband but in fact actually wakes up naked next to his high school, ex girlfriend during the film. Realistically of course the ex girlfriend and the current partner exchange pleasantries at the end.
However Finch’s character does have an unusual but interesting story since he graduated high school, Jim’s dad gets to let loose a little bit and Stifler finally gets his own back on Finch at the end of the film for sleeping with his mother.
To be perfectly blunt about the reunion, it has to be said that although American Pie 1, 2 and to an extent 3 will remain in all of our hearts as light hearted humour, maybe they should have stopped there or possibly developed the humour and matured the storyline with the characters age. It is worth a watch just to be reacquainted with the original cast and parts of it are funny without the awkwardness, but I wouldn’t hold your hopes too high for the latest addition to the American Pie series.
FemaleFirst, Emma Chaplin