American Reunion (2012)

Plot

Jim enjoying some "alone" time with the computer.

The film opens with Jim (Jason Biggs) & Michelle Levenstein (Alyson Hannigan), stuck in a rut but otherwise still together after the events in American Wedding. With a precocious two-year-old to take care of, Jim & Michelle's sex life is non-existent, and a night of alone time turns disastrous when their son walks in on Jim enjoying internet pornography. Jim still keeps in touch with Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas), who is happily married, though he seems to feel a little emasculated from his work-at-home job & his enjoyment of female-oriented television such as Gossip Girl & Real Housewives. Chris "Oz" Ostreicher (Chris Klein) is a big-time NFL sportscaster who found his most success in his stint with the Dancing With the Stars-esque "Celebrity Dance Off" show. Though he is rich & has plenty of adoring fans, his life feels empty, exasperated by his free-spirit supermodel girlfriend Mia (Katrina Bowden), as even he admits he wanted to settle down by this point in his life. Steve "Stifmeister" Stifler (Seann William Scott) works as a temp at an investment firm under the condescending & entitled Mr. Duraiswamy (Vik Sahay), much to Stifler's annoyance. Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) had dropped off the map sometime after the events of the last film, though Kevin assures Jim that Finch will be around sooner rather than later.

"Let's make this reunion our bitch!"

The East Great Falls High School Class of 1999 is invited to a Facebook event for a thirteen year reunion, and a majority of the class is due to attend. Jim, Michelle & their son head to East Great Falls the weekend before the reunion in order to visit Mr. Levenstein (Eugene Levy) who is still mourning the loss of his wife three years prior. While Michelle & Jim's dad unload the car, Jim runs into the next-door neighbor, Kara (Ali Cobrin), whom Jim used to babysit when he was in high school. Attractive & sweet, Kara is turning 18 over the weekend and pleads for Jim to attend her party, though Jim is taken aback from her offer. Although both Jim's dad & Michelle are eager to spend time with Jim, Jim already has plans to meet with his classmates at a local bar. Kevin, Jim & Oz reunite and are surprised when Finch shows up in a motorcycle, telling tales of his travels around the world, much to the boys' delight. The bartender, Selena (Dania Ramirez), also graduated from East Great Falls High in 1999 and was a good friend of Michelle's, though due to her status as a band geek, only Finch was a friend to her at the time. While the guys plan to keep Stifler out of their festivities for the weekend, Stifler shows up uninvited to the bar, as Jim & the gang reluctantly allow him to join in on the fun.

"Do you have to stare?"

The next morning, Jim & the gang head to the beach, with Michelle, Mia & Selena in tow. While Jim, Kevin & Finch find themselves distracted by Mia's bikini body, Oz runs into his high-school sweetheart Heather (Mena Suvari), who is currently dating the affable & arrogant heart surgeon Ron (Jay Harrington). Stifler butting into their conversation only makes the situation more awkward. High school students on break (one of whom is currently dating Kara) prank Mia & most of the girls on the beach and disrespect Stifler, Oz, Finch, Jim & Kevin, and in the spirit of competition, they plan to prank them back. However, Stifler sets up the guys, each telling them a different plan of action. Stifler instead ties the high schoolers' jet-skis to his truck and defecates in their beer cooler, and as the guys drive off, the jet skis get totaled in the chase that follows. Back at the beach, Kevin meets with his first love, Vicky (Tara Reid), much to his surprise.

Later that night, the gang (without Michelle, who is taking care of her son) attend a party at the old high school hang-out near the beach, which just so happens to be where Kara is celebrating her 18th birthday. Vicky & Kevin talk about their past together, Oz, Michelle & their significant others play a decidedly-awkward game of "Never Have I Ever" together, Finch & Selena act on their feelings for one another, while Jim is pressured by Stifler to hook up with Kara, who has had an obvious crush on Jim since she was young. While Stifler's plans to hook up with a high schooler run awry, Jim is forced to take a drunken Kara back to her house. On the drive home, Kara attempts to seduce Jim into taking her virginity, taking off her clothes in the process. In a mishap, Kara is knocked unconscious in a compromising position while Jim encounters the "MILF Guy" (John Cho), who is putting the reunion together, though the MILF Guy assumes that Michelle is in the car with Jim.

Selena, a band camp geek turned bartender hottie.

Jim drives to Kara's house after, and distraught over the thought of trying to sneak back Kara's half-naked body into her parents' home, calls Stifler, Oz & Finch for help. The three boys stage a distraction downstairs so that Jim can safely return Kara to her room upstairs. Kara is returned safely, though the high schoolers spot Stifler & Jim climbing out of Kara's window & escaping at the last minute. Jim falls asleep immediately after getting home, bailing on plans for a romantic evening that he promised he would have with Michelle. Kevin sleeps in a hotel room and dreams of Vicky performing oral sex on him (a callback to a memorable scene from the first American Pie film). When Kevin wakes up, he realizes that his clothes are off & he's sharing a bed with Vicky, so he assumes that he slept with her the night prior.

Kevin & Vicky reunite.

The next night, Jim & Michelle plan to attend Stifler's big party, the night before the reunion. They decide to bring along a reluctant Mr. Levenstein, hoping that he'll meet someone new in the process. The party doesn't quite go the way Stifler planed for it to go, as it becomes a mature, dress-up affair for people with husbands, wives and families (a far cry from the high school shindigs he threw a decade prior). Even Stifler's (gay) lacrosse teammates have matured, inviting Stifler to their wedding. Stifler turns to Mr. Levenstein and plans to get him drunk for the night, much to Mr. Levenstein's enjoyment. Kevin confronts Vicky about the night before, and is relieved to find out that they didn't hook up, though Vicky is offended by Kevin believing that she'd break up a marriage of someone who she cares about and leaves the party in anger. Mia takes ecstacy and brings out Oz's "Celebrity Dance-Off" tape, featuring his embarrassing dance routine & his elimination, much to Ron & Mia's delight. Heather goes to comfort Oz, and Oz admits that he still has feelings for Heather, which are reciprocated. While Heather goes to talk to Ron, Mia, in her manic state, jumps on Oz in the basement & begins to have sex with him. Heather walks in & gets into a fight with Mia over Oz, with Oz losing both girls in the process. Mr. Levenstein runs into Stifler's Mom (Jennifer Coolidge) upstairs and spends time with her. Jim & Michelle put on role-playing dominatrix outfits in the guest bedroom, in an attempt to spice up their love life. However, Jim is then straddled by Kara, who snuck her way into the party and is intent on losing her virginity to him. She is caught by the high schoolers & so begins a fight between the class of '99 and the current high school class. The cops show up and break up the fight, but arrest Finch in the process, charging him for stealing a motorcycle.

Love connection.

Michelle, fed up with Jim's behavior, leaves the party & goes to her grandmother's house for the night. Mia flies back to Los Angeles and Stifler skips the reunion in order to finish a project at work. Jim & Mr. Levenstein have a heart-to-heart about marriage & Jim's dad assures him that they're in love, though that they need to make time for each other for the relationship to work. Jim, Kevin, Oz & Finch (who was bailed out by his mother) attend the reunion, where Finch comes clean to the guys, saying that he's an assistant manager at Staples who stole his boss' motorcycle when he wasn't given the raise he was promised. Finch is assured that he's their friend no matter what, and the guys realize that their group isn't the same without Stifler. They travel to Stifler's job and convince him to attend the reunion, though Stifler doesn't leave without giving his boss his comeuppance.

Welcome to the East Great Falls Class of 1999 reunion.

At the reunion, Kevin makes up with Vicky, reminds her that she will always be her first love, and introduces her to his wife, who becomes fast friends with Vicky. Finch comes clean with Selena, though promises that he's willing to travel the world with Selena one day. Oz sees Heather with Ron and kisses her, much to Ron's disgust, though Stifler knocks him out with a punch before Ron makes any moves. Michelle attends the reunion and Jim makes amends with her, saying that he'll promise to make time for her in the future. They soon leave to have sex in the band rehearsal room. The gang runs into characters from their high school, such as Chuck "The Sherminator" Sherman (Chris Owen), Jessica (Natasha Lyonne) and Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), who walks in on Jim & Michelle having sex & compliments him on improving since high school (a callback to the infamous webcam scene from the first film). Stifler is greeted by his lacrosse teammates who want him to plan their wedding, which Stifler accepts. Stifler, in an ironic twist, meets Finch's mom (Rebecca De Mornay) and ends up sleeping with her on the football field. The MILF Guys, who were estranged since the last film, reunite over this turn of events.

Michelle at the reunion.

East Great Falls Class of 99

The next morning, the gang heads to the local hot dog shop (the same place where Oz compared third base to "warm apple pie") and meet up one last time before they return to their lives. Jim sees Kara with her friend & they both apologize for their behavior. Jim assures Kara that her first will be special, and Kara compliments Jim by hoping that she'd meet a good guy like Jim in the future. Oz & Heather are back together, Kevin & Jim are happier than ever in their respective marriages, Stifler subtly hints that he hooked up with Finch's mom & Finch is happily in a relationship with Selena. The gang agrees to meet up once a year from here on out and toasts to what the future holds for them.

In a sequence that plays during the credits, Mr. Levenstein & Stifler's Mom attend a movie together where Stifler's mom performs oral sex on him, much to his delight.

Reception, Release & Box Office Info

Hurwitz, Schlossberg & Biggs.

It was reported in October 2008 that Universal Studios were working towards making a third sequel to their hit film, American Pie, which found minor success with their American Pie Presents direct-to-DVD spin-off series. It wasn't until April 2010 when the film started in pre-production, the film being written and directed by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg (the writer/director pair from the hit Harold & Kumar series). The plan was to bring back the entire cast from the first film, with Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy, and Seann William Scott signing in early 2011. Biggs & Scott had executive producer credits for the film as well, and aided in gathering the cast together for the film. Between April & July 2011, the remaining cast members sign onto the project, with a casting call for Kara being sent out in late May. The film began shooting on a $50 million budget in Atlanta, Georgia and was set for a domestic release in April of 2012.

American Reunion released in North America on April 6, 2012 in 3,192 theaters across the country and ended up making $21.5 million over the three-day weekend, for a per-screen average of $6,740. It failed to reach the top spot in its opening weekend, losing out to The Hunger Games' $33 million third-weekend take, but beat out the heavily-hyped Titanic 3D re-release for second place. In comparison to the previous films, American Reunion made more money than the first film in its opening weekend ($21.5 million vs. $18.7 million) but paled in comparison to the openings for American Pie 2 ($45.1 million) and American Wedding ($33.3 million). Adjusted for inflation, American Reunion's opening was the lowest for the entire franchise, but it was also the third highest R-rated opening ever over Easter weekend (only Panic Room & The Matrix opened stronger) and otherwise was solid for a Spring release (the other American Pie films opened in August, a busier month for films). As of May 31, 2012, American Reunion has made $56.7 million in North America, by far the lowest grossing film in the franchise.

American Reunion (also known as American Pie: Reunion) opened to $19.8 million in foreign markets, including a $5 million debut in Australia , the strongest foreign opening in the franchise. By May 13, 2012, American Reunion had made $143.4 million in foreign ticket sales, beating out American Pie 2 and becoming the highest-grossing American Pie film on a foreign basis. As of July 11, 2012, the film has made $176.8 million in foreign markets, making it the third highest-grossing American Pie film in worldwide sales, but the first in foreign sales.

American Reunion saw mixed-to-average reviews during its original release, with a 42% Rotten Tomatoes score (the lowest in the franchise) and a 50 on Metacritic. A majority of the reviews found that the film was too cliched, obvious and strained to work as a stand-alone film, with uninspired gags & jokes, while others found that the film was the equivalent of comfort food- sweet, sentimental and nostalgic, it not overreaching. Christy Lemire called the film "half-baked "with an emphasis on forced tension & cliches, while Roger Ebert (who gave positive reviews to the entire American Pie franchise) enjoyed American Reunion, though found sad comedy in the fact that Stifler's mom is up to the same schtick, even a decade past her prime.