American Reunion

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"American Pie 4" redirects here. For the fourth installment in the American Pie series overall, see American Pie Presents: Band Camp.
For the Dogme 95 film, see Reunion (2001 film).
American Reunion
Group picture of the cast. Alyson Hannigan has a baby bottle in hand instead of a flute. The pie has only a small slice left, indicating this is the final film in the series.
Theatrical poster that mirrors the original 1999 American Pie movie poster
Directed by Jon Hurwitz
Hayden Schlossberg
Produced by Chris Moore
Craig Perry
Adam Herz
Warren Zide
Written by Jon Hurwitz
Hayden Schlossberg
Based on Characters 
by Adam Herz
Starring Jason Biggs
Alyson Hannigan
Chris Klein
Thomas Ian Nicholas
Seann William Scott
Tara Reid
Mena Suvari
Eddie Kaye Thomas
Dania Ramirez
Eugene Levy
Music by Lyle Workman
Cinematography Daryn Okada[1]
Editing by Jeff Betancourt[1]
Studio Relativity Media
Zide/Perry Productions
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s)
  • April 6, 2012 (2012-04-06)
Running time 113 minutes[2]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $50 million[2]
Box office $234,736,898[2]

American Reunion (also known as American Pie: Reunion in certain countries[3]) is a 2012 ensemble comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. It is the fourth installment in the American Pie theatrical series and eighth installment in the American Pie franchise overall.

Due to the film's success, it was revealed that a sequel under the name American Pie 5 is coming with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg coming back as directors and screenwriters.

Contents

Plot [edit]

 This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2013)

Thirteen years after graduating high school, Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs), Chris "Oz" Ostreicher (Chris Klein), Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott) are well-established in their lives and careers. Jim is still married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and they now have a two-year-old son, Evan. Since the birth of their son, Jim and Michelle's sex life has deteriorated. Oz is an NFL sportscaster living in Los Angeles with his supermodel girlfriend Mia (Katrina Bowden). Kevin is married to Ellie and works from home as an architect. Finch tells his friends that he has been traveling the world, and still searching for his one true love. Stifler works as a temp at an investment firm, where he is also the victim of cruel verbal abuse by his arrogant employer.

Former classmate John (John Cho), one half of the 'MILF' duo, organizes a Class of 1999 high school reunion in East Great Falls. Jim and Michelle return to Jim's old home, where his father Noah (Eugene Levy) is now a widower. Jim encounters his neighbor Kara (Ali Cobrin), whom he used to babysit and who is soon to turn 18. Jim meets Oz, Kevin and Finch at a bar, where they meet Selena Vega (Dania Ramirez), a former classmate and Michelle's best friend from an unknown music band. Stifler happens by, and joins them for weekend activities.

The next day, the group goes to the beach. Oz meets his high school girlfriend, Heather (Mena Suvari), who is dating a heart doctor named Ron (Jay Harrington), and Kevin reconnects with Vicky (Tara Reid). The guys have an altercation with Kara's boyfriend A.J. (Chuck Hittinger) and his friends, which ends with Stifler defecating in their beer cooler and destroying their jet skis. That night, the guys and girls minus Michelle, go to the falls and find a high school party celebrating Kara's birthday. Finch and Selena reconnect and realize how much they have in common, and they fall in love. Kara becomes intoxicated; Jim drives her home, and she tries to seduce him. They are discovered by John, who mistakes Kara for Michelle and dismisses it. Oz, Finch, and Stifler help Jim return Kara to her parents' home, but A.J. spots them. Kevin wakes up hungover next to Vicky and assumes they had sex.

The next day, Stifler tries to throw a party like in high school, but finds everyone else has outgrown this. Jim and Michelle attend, intending to recreate their prom night. They bring Noah along to help him out of his depression. Noah becomes intoxicated and encounters Stifler's mother Jeanine (Jennifer Coolidge) for the first time. Kevin confronts Vicky about the night before, but she insists there was no sex and is upset that he would assume such a thing. Mia takes Ecstasy, and Ron humiliates Oz by showing a DVD of his failure as a contestant on Celebrity Dance-Off. Heather comforts Oz, and they attempt to rekindle their relationship. They are interrupted by Mia, who starts a fight with Heather. Jim and Michelle decide to role-play, but Kara tries to seduce him again. A.J. misunderstands and jealously interrupts them. The adults and the teens erupt in a brawl on the front lawn, which is disrupted by police officers. They arrest Finch for stealing a motorcycle. Stifler finds Finch's arrest amusing while the others sympathize with Finch. Fed up with Stifler's rudeness, the guys tell him off. Stifler responds that they never contact him anymore and they didn't tell him they were coming to town. The others admit that they did not want him to ruin things like he always does. Hurt, Stifler ends the party.

Mia leaves Oz, Stifler decides to skip the reunion, and Michelle goes to her grandmother's. When Jim tells his father about his disappointing sex life, Noah advises them to make time for each other. At the reunion, Finch admits that he is an assistant manager at Staples and stole the motorcycle from his boss when he did not receive a raise that was promised. The boys apologize to Stifler at his place of work, and insist that he is their friend; without him, high school would not have been any fun. Stifler is emboldened by this and quits his job - but not before standing up to his antagonistic boss - and attends the reunion. Kevin reconciles with Vicky, but she meets a new guy at the reunion. Finch makes amends with Selena for lying, and they have sex in the bathroom which promises to lead to an ongoing relationship. Oz reunites with Heather, and Jim reconciles with Michelle. Stifler is asked to be a party planner for a wedding for his former lacrosse teammates. He also meets Finch's mother Rachel (Rebecca De Mornay) who proceeds to have sex with him on the lacrosse field. John is reunited with his estranged buddy, Justin (Justin Isfeld) and they watch Stifler having sex with Finch's mom while chanting "MILF".

The next morning, Jim and Kara apologize to each other for their behavior. Oz plans to stay in town with Heather, Finch plans a trip with Selena to Europe, Stifler drops subtle hints about sleeping with Rachel but no one catches on. Jim proposes a pact for them to reunite once a year. They all agree and make a toast as the franchise's theme song ("Laid") plays. In a post-credits scene, Noah Levenstein receives sexual gratification from Stifler's Mom at a movie theater.

Cast [edit]

American Pie: Reunion cast, at the Harry's Cafe de Wheels in Sydney 2012.

Production [edit]

Development [edit]

It was reported[by whom?] in October 2008 that Universal Pictures was planning to produce a third theatrically released sequel to the first film.[4] In April 2010, the film entered pre-production, with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg signing on to write and direct with plans of reuniting the whole cast of the primary series.[5]

Casting [edit]

In March 2011, it was announced[by whom?] that Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott and Eugene Levy had signed on to reprise their roles.[6] Biggs and Scott were granted executive producer credits and also helped convince the other previous cast members to return.[7] In April 2011, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein and Mena Suvari signed on.[8][9][10] The following month, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Eddie Kaye Thomas,[11] Shannon Elizabeth,[12] and Jennifer Coolidge[13] signed on. In June and July 2011, John Cho[14] and Natasha Lyonne[15] were the last returning cast to sign on.

On May 18, 2011, a casting call went out for the character "Kara", a role that involved "upper frontal nudity".[16] Ali Cobrin was cast in the role. National Football League wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has a cameo along with other wide receiver Terrell Owens.[17][18]

Jason Biggs and Sean William Scott each received a reported $5 million plus a percentage of the profits for their performances. Alyson Hannigan and Eugene Levy were said to have been paid $3 million each, with the rest of the cast receiving payments within the $500,000 to $700,000 range, except Tara Reid who was paid $250,000.[19]

Filming [edit]

On a budget of $50 million,[2] principal photography took place from early June to August 2011 in metro Atlanta, Georgia.[12][20] In late June, filming took place at Conyers, Monroe and Woodruff Park.[18][21] Production filmed at Newton High School in Covington from July 11 to July 15. Scenes were filmed at the school's gym for a reunion prom set, football field, commons area and hallways; which included 200 extras. Under the deal the production company paid $10,000 to the Newton County School System for using the school.[21]

During the last week of July, production moved to Cumming to film at Mary Alice Park on Lake Lanier and included about 100 extras.[22] Moore said the beach at the lake looks similar to a Lake Michigan setting, which is the state in which the film is set. The production company paid $23,000 to have full access to the property for a week.[22] Suvari finished filming her scenes on August 4.[23]

Release [edit]

Box office [edit]

American Reunion opened in North America on April 6, 2012 in 3,192 theaters for a weekend total of $21,514,080, putting it at number 2 at the box office behind The Hunger Games.[24] On its second week of release it dropped to number 5 at the box office with a weekend total of $10,473,810.[25]

The film earned $56,758,835 in North America and $177,978,063 internationally, for a worldwide total of $234,736,898.[2]

Home video [edit]

The DVD and Blu-ray discs were released on July 10, 2012 in North America. [26] The film was also released in a box set called American Pie Quadrilogy on August 22, 2012 in Australia.[27] The rated R version was available on iTunes a few days ahead of time as an "Early Digital Release".[28] It was released on the September 10, 2012 in the United Kingdom.[29]

Reception [edit]

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 43 percent based on 198 reviews, with the consensus being "It'll provide sweetly nostalgic comfort food for fans of the franchise, but American Reunion fails to do anything truly new or interesting -- or even very funny -- with the characters." [30]

According to Roger Ebert:[31]

The charm of "American Pie" was the relative youth and naivete of the characters. It was all happening for the first time, and they had the single-minded obsession with sex typical of many teenagers. "American Reunion" has a sense of deja vu, but it still delivers a lot of nice laughs. Most of them for me came thanks to Stifler. . . If you liked the earlier films, I suppose you gotta see this one. Otherwise, I dunno.

The Village Voice concludes its review with the following:[32]

After some strained "Remember the time . . ." callbacks to 13-year-old gags, American Reunion gets comfortable and funny, as Hurwitz and Schlossberg hit familiar marks from unexpected angles, while the ensemble interplay is "routine" in the best sense of the word. Taken altogether, the Pie movies offer a cohesive worldview, showing each of life's stages as the setting for fresh-yet-familiar catastrophes, relieved by a belief in sex, however ridiculous it might look, as a restorative force. The recipe is so durable and the sustained character work so second-skin by now, one can imagine the Pie films keeping with the dramatis personae through middle age and into the problems of geriatric love, a raunch-comic version of Britain's documentary Up series. American Midlife Crisis? American Retirement? American Funeral? Let's go!

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave American Reunion a positive review of two and half stars out of four saying, "American Reunion reminds us what we liked about the original: the way the movie sweetened its raunch to build a rooting interest in these characters."[33]

Accolades [edit]

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result
2012 Teen Choice Awards[34] Choice Movie: Comedy Nominated
Choice Movie Actor: Comedy Jason Biggs Nominated
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy Alyson Hannigan Nominated

Soundtrack [edit]

American Reunion: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released April 30, 2012 (2012-04-30)
Label Universal Republic
Various artists chronology
American Wedding: Music from the Motion Picture
(2003)		 American Reunion: Music from the Motion Picture
(2012)
No. Title Writer(s) Performed by Length
1. "Last Night"     Good Charlotte 3:40
2. "You Make Me Feel..." (featuring Sabi)   Cobra Starship 3:35
3. "Here Comes the Hotstepper"     Stooshe 3:36
4. "Wannamama"     Pop Levi 3:28
5. "My First Kiss" (featuring Ke$ha)   3OH!3 3:13
6. "I'm a Man"     The Blue Van 3:49
7. "Bring It On Home"     Kopek 3:08
8. "Rump Shaker" (featuring Teddy Riley)   Wreckx-N-Effect 3:57
9. "Wannabe" (radio edit)   Spice Girls 2:53
10. "I'll Make Love to You"     Boyz II Men 4:02
11. "This Is How We Do It"     Montell Jordan 3:59
12. "The Good Life"     Hassahn Phenomenon 3:21
13. "My Generation"     Thomas Nicholas Band 2:28
14. "Class of '99"     Lyle Workman 5:49
15. "Na Na Na"     My Chemical Romance 4:13
16. "American Reunion"     Lyle Workman 3:26
17. "Laid"     James 2:37

Sequel [edit]

A fifth theatrical film, under the working title American Pie 5 was announced on August 4, 2012, with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg returning as directors and screenwriters.[35]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "American Pie 4 (2012)". All Media Guide (published by The New York Times). Retrieved July 9, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "American Reunion". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 2, 2012. 
  3. ^ "American Pie: Reunion". Odeon Cinemas. Retrieved March 21, 2012. 
  4. ^ Sciretta, Peter (October 28, 2008). "Universal Eyeing American Pie 4? |". /Film. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2010. 
  5. ^ Moody, Mike (April 2, 2010). "'Kumar' creators for 'American Pie 4'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011. 
  6. ^ Grossberg, Josh (March 16, 2011). "New American Pie Sequel in Works—Can It Overcome the Curse of American Pie?". E!. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011. 
  7. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (October 12, 2011). "All the 'Pie' ingredients are there in 'American Reunion'". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 
  8. ^ Fleming, Mike (April 11, 2011). "Alyson Hannigan Back For 'American Reunion'". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011. 
  9. ^ Garcia, Jennifer (April 18, 2011). "Chris Klein Officially Back for More American Pie". People. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Mena excited about American Reunion". Northwich Guardian. Press Association. April 20, 2011. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011. 
  11. ^ Semigran, Aly (May 10, 2011). "'American Reunion' gets Thomas Ian Nicholas on board. What other classic '90s teen ensembles do you want to see get back together?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011. 
  12. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 27, 2011). "Reunion On 'American Reunion' Complete: Shannon Elizabeth Signs For Fourquel". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2011. 
  13. ^ "Jennifer Coolidge Joins American Pie Reunion". Contact Music. May 23, 2011. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011. 
  14. ^ Ayres, Tom (June 11, 2011). "John Cho is back for 'American Reunion'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011. 
  15. ^ Uddin, Zakia (July 13, 2011). "Natasha Lyonne joins 'American Reunion'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011. 
  16. ^ "Casting Call for American Reunion". ComingSoon.net. May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011. 
  17. ^ Goldberg, Matt (June 29, 2011). "Football Star Chad Ochocinco to Cameo in AMERICAN REUNION". Collider.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2011. 
  18. ^ a b Brett, Jennifer (June 29, 2011). "6/30 Peach Buzz: Action! Filming updates both ITP and OTP". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 30, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2011. 
  19. ^ Matthew Bellonni, 'Who Got Paid What for the 'American Pie' Reunion', Hollywood Reporter, 29 Sept 2011 accessed 14 Sept 2012
  20. ^ "Bye, Bye American Pie". The Newton Citizen. August 13, 2011. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011. 
  21. ^ a b Floyd, Michelle (June 25, 2011). "NHS to be location in 'American Pie' movie". The Newton Citizen. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011. 
  22. ^ a b "Crews film 'American Pie Reunion' scenes at Lanier". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. August 1, 2011. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011. 
  23. ^ "Mena Suvari — Mena Suvari Curious About Pie Return". Contactmusic.com. August 5, 2011. Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011. 
  24. ^ "'Hunger Games' Sinks 'American Reunion,' 'Titanic 3D'". The Hollywood Reporter. April 8, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012. 
  25. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for April 13-15, 2012 - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  26. ^ "American Reunion". Amazon. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  27. ^ "American Pie Quadrilogy". Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  28. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/american-reunion/id525624498
  29. ^ "American Pie: Reunion [DVD][2012]". Amazon. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  30. ^ "American Reunion". Rotten Tomatoes. 
  31. ^ Ebert, Roger (April 4, 2012). "American Reunion". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2012-05-04. 
  32. ^ Pinkerton, Nick (April 4, 2012). "The Shelf Life of the Clinton-era Tested in Titanic 3D and American Reunion". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2012-05-04. 
  33. ^ "American Reunion". Rolling Stone. April 5, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  34. ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2012: 'Breaking Dawn,' 'Snow White' Lead Second Wave of Nominees". Retrieved July 15, 2012. 
  35. ^ "American Pie 5 cooking at Universal". Retrieved August 4, 2012. 

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