REVIEW: American Reunion

Thursday March 22nd at 9 p.m. students filled the Lorch Hall AskWith Auditorium, to see a sneak preview viewing of the upcoming movie, American Reunion, the fourth in the American Pie film series, and to see four of the cast members from the movie live and in person! After being escorted to a rare available seat in the auditorium by a security guard from Universal Studios, Eli Yudin, a student comedian from the University of Michigan, announced that the cast members were walking to the hall for a question and answer session. The crowd screamed and yelled in electric anticipation to host famous movie stars on the university’s campus. When the MFlicks crew, who hosted the event, were given the signal that the cast members were on their way, Eli suggested that the crowd sing the Michigan fight song as the movie stars enter the auditorium, as a few of the cast members are University of Michigan graduates. The auditorium full of students sang the fight song and fist-pumped as the cast of American Reunion walked from the back of the auditorium, through the aisles, taking pictures and video on their phones of the crowd.

For about 20 minutes Eli asked the cast members questions written down by students in the crowd, most questions directed to Jason Biggs, the main character of the series, about the number of pies used in the famous scene from the first movie, and a request to do a dance from a previous American Pie movie, which he did with the girl from the audience who made the request. The cast members were funny, and the crowd was engaged and entertained throughout the interview.

Soon, the interview was over and the crowd went wild one last time as the stars exited the auditorium, the lights dimmed, and the movie began. Personally, I have never seen an American Pie movie before (shocking, I know!) so I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into. In American Reunion, the original cast of American Pie come together again for their 13-ish-year high school reunion (class of 1999!). (It was mentioned in the interview portion that the idea came up for an American Reunion movie at the 10 year anniversary, and unfortunately it takes time to make a movie, so that’s why by the time the movie came out, it was actually 13 years since the characters graduated! ) Some characters have gotten married and settled down, and others have focused on their careers, but they all realize how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same, through the crazy antics they experience at home during the weekend of the reunion.

Now, do you want my opinion? I really hated the movie! No wonder I never watched the others… The entire movie was nothing but gross-out, dirty jokes, sex, and nudity. I knew it was a comedy, but I thought that there would be some genuine situational humor, not just cheap sexual jokes. Women were relentlessly objectified, and I felt somewhat uncomfortable throughout the entire movie. Aside from the sex, any other plot line or humor used in the movie was so incredibly cheesy and shallow–about 30 minutes in, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I know American Pie has a huge following, and the auditorium was filled with university students who were totally into the movie–everyone was saying how great it was as we filed out of the theatre after the show. I suspect my opinion is the minority, so if you disagree with me, or you want to go see American Reunion for yourself, the movie is being released to theatres on April 6th. Check out the website for more information!

http://www.americanpiereunion.com/