American Reunion brings the East Great Falls class back for a thirteenth high school reunion, and the movie has nothing new to say about any of them. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg wrote and directed the fourth and final film in the American Pie theatrical series. It runs 113 minutes. Universal Pictures put it out on April 6, 2012.
Trailer, via American Pie.
Jim and Michelle’s Two-Year-Old
Jim Levenstein and Michelle have been married nine years and are in a sexual rut since their son was born. Kevin Myers is a househusband and architect. Chris “Oz” Ostreicher works as a celebrity sportscaster and dates Mia, a supermodel. Paul Finch has been traveling the world. The four return from their disparate locations to East Great Falls, Michigan, and Stifler tags along whether they want him or not.
Kara’s Eighteenth Birthday
Jim meets Kara, a former neighbor he once babysat. She asks him to her 18th birthday party, and he accepts. Kara gets drunk and comes on to him. He refuses. She passes out, so Jim pulls in Stifler, Finch and Oz to keep her parents busy while he carries her up to her room. He goes home, falls asleep, and leaves Michelle despondent about their marriage.
The returning cast:
- Jason Biggs as Jim Levenstein
- Alyson Hannigan as Michelle Levenstein
- Seann William Scott as Steve Stifler
- Chris Klein as Chris ‘Oz’ Ostreicher
- Thomas Ian Nicholas as Kevin Myers
- Tara Reid as Victoria ‘Vicky’ Lathum
- Mena Suvari as Heather
- Eddie Kaye Thomas as Paul Finch
- Eugene Levy as Jim’s father, Noah
The Money Behind the Reunion
Biggs and Scott took executive producer credits and helped talk the other cast members into coming back. Each of the two was paid a reported $5 million plus a slice of the profits. Hannigan and Levy were said to have gotten $3 million each. The rest of the cast fell between $500,000 and $700,000, except Tara Reid, who got $250,000. Ali Cobrin won the part of Kara from a casting call that specified “upper frontal nudity.” Chad Ochocinco and Neil Patrick Harris have cameos.
What the Reunion Adds Up To
The film grossed $235 million worldwide in box office against a $50 million budget, so the studio got what it paid for. What it did not get is a reason for this movie to exist. The tagline promises to “save the best piece for last.” It doesn’t. The lake, the jet skis, the drunken pass, the Kevin-and-Vicky misunderstanding — every beat is a rerun, and the reunion is a setting rather than an idea. The one thread with any weight is Jim’s widower father Noah and Jim’s push for him to start dating, and the movie treats it as a detour.
American Reunion is a homecoming with nobody home.
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