American Reunion

American Reunion

Has the mother of Stifler been upstairs in her room all these years, sitting in her chaise lounge, touching up her pink lipstick and waiting for a young friend of her son to step hesitantly through the door? I worry about the most iconic mom in American movies. When she arrived onscreen in one of the “American Pie” pictures, it was like a blond bomb went off.

But this time there is a tragic dimension; when her son throws a party downstairs and she looks just the same, still gorgeous and self-possessed, we can’t help but wonder if perhaps she has been down there every day all these years, waiting maybe not even consciously for menopause to end.

Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge) seems stuck in time with Stifler himself (Seann William Scott), who complains that kids don’t want to go out drinking anymore. The others have moved on. Now in their early 30s, those members of the old high school gang who are left have gotten married or found work or both. In fact they have matured so much that when three of them plan to return home three days before everyone else for some quality catch-up time (i.e., boozing), they don’t even tell Stifler. They like him fine; they are merely capable of remembering what happened before.

The movie series having made this cast as familiar as our own reunion photos indeed it feels sort of like our reunion with them we get an update. Oz (Chris Klein) is now an expert about sports on an ESPN-like channel; Jim and Michelle (Jason Biggs and Alyson Hannigan) are married but have ceased to be lovers; Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) may or may not be covered with international modeling groupie goupies.

Jim remains a straight arrow but finds himself erotically beleaguered by Kara (Ali Cobrin), who used to be the little neighbor girl he baby-sat. Another returning face is Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy), who memorably advised his son on masturbation and other matters that left Jim wishing he could remember nothing at all.

A movie constructed largely out of cross-references, “American Reunion” does break fresh ground with regard to the famous Levy eyebrows; when a girl offers to thin them a little for a makeover, he gets strangely defensive (“They’re sort of a trademark”), but she is able to pluck enough hairs to stuff a pillow without making the slightest difference.

What made “American Pie” so likable was the relative youth and naivete of its sexually frustrated characters it was all happening for the first time and they were in their hormonal single payer phase. Now in their 30s they have seen some things, and although “American Reunion” has an agreeable deja vu feeling about it, it still delivers quite a few real laughs.

Most of them for me came thanks to Stifler. Seann William Scott, who has a respectable career otherwise, has made the role of Stifler his own he can morph his face into an entirely different person, eyes narrowed and crazed grin beaming with frightening focus but still burning with all the lust for life and adventure that he had in high school and only an idiot wouldn’t be impressed by what he does to the jet skis of two jerks.

“American Pie” (1999) was notorious for one of the ingredients in its titular pie. That recipe is reprised in the dialogue this time, too. In fact, “American Reunion” depends so much on “Pie” history I wonder if it might leave first-timers at sea; I don’t know if you’d feel left out or not.Some of them mostly because of Stiffler.

For any other roles that Seann William Scott may have played throughout his career, nobody will ever forget him as Stiffler; there is just something about the way that he pulls off this character that allows him to completely change his appearance narrow-eyed crazy grinning maniacal looking still passionate about having fun while looking scary at the same time. All I can say is wow when thinking about how cleverly he destroys these jet skis belonging to two different idiots.

The film titled American Pie which was released in 1999 became famous for one specific ingredient used within its name sake desert dish but also continues using this same recipe during conversations between characters throughout its duration. This installment seems heavily reliant upon previous movies from the franchise and would probably make anyone new to watching them feel lost at times unless they have seen everything leading up until now but if you enjoyed any part before then go ahead watch again why not otherwise I am sorry what do I know.

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