American Reunion reunites the characters we all know from the original American Pie trilogy as they all return to East Great Falls for the weekend to attend their 13-year High School reunion (yes, it’s an odd number to celebrate, but they do provide a line in the film to justify it). The film primarily focuses on the five main guys from the original American Pie film—Jim, Stifler, Oz, Kevin and Finch. While some of the guys have changed quite a bit from their high school days, others seem to have remained the same. (I don’t want to go into specifics because part of the fun of this film is discovering more about the guys as the movie goes along.)

American Reunion is a great blend of physical, situational and laugh out loud comedy. However, just like with the original American Pie, we also get a bit of heart and really get to see these characters grow and overcome obstacles in their lives. Stifler also becomes more of the guy you are rooting for rather than the jerk you can’t wait to see get is comeuppance.

American Reunion is a perfect addition to the franchise. After all of the direct-to-video sequels that didn’t contain the main cast, it is refreshing to see a proper follow-up film. You can tell the creators of this film are die-hard fans of the original. There are so many callbacks to the original films, both obvious and subtle. While there are some variations on entire scenes and situations, they also paid attention to even the smallest of details, such as using the same music cues to invoke some nostalgia.

The creators of this film also did the Harold and Kumar franchise. However, aside from a pot-smoking scene, this movie really feels like a genuine American Pie film, and I wouldn’t have even known there had been different folks involved. Their take on the Jim caught in an embarrassing position scenes work perfectly, and the excruciatingly awkward father/son talks between Jim and his Dad had me laughing out loud.

I was also impressed that they were able to bring back every (and I do mean every) character you could possibly remember from the first film. Just when you think someone might be left out, they show up!

Fans of the original American Pie trilogy should definitely enjoy this latest addition to the franchise. And I think it would still be entertaining for those unfamiliar with the characters.

What’s Included:

Film:

Blu-ray:
• Unrated (1:53:51) and Theatrical (1:52:52) versions of the film
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 5.1 DTS, French 5.1 DTS
• English SDH, Spanish, French subtitles

DVD:

• Unrated (1:53:51) and Theatrical (1:52:52) versions of the film
• Audio: English 5.1, DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 5.1, French 5.1
• English SDH, Spanish subtitles

Insert with code for Ultraviolet Digital Copy plus iTunes Digital Copy of unrated version of the film (expires 4/30/15)

Extras (Items with an * only appear on the Blu-ray):

• Deleted Scenes (7:51)
  A collection of seven deleted scenes. There is a Play All option, or each can be viewed on its own.
• Extended Scenes* (26:25)
  A collection of thirteen extended scenes. There is a Play All option, or each can be viewed on its own.
• Alternate Takes* (3:53)
  Alternate versions/lines for a few scenes.
• Gag Reel (3:42)
• Feature Commentary with Co-Directors/Co-Writers Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg (1:53:51)
  The creators discuss why they made certain choices while writing/directing the film, and other directions they almost went. They also note many of the allusions to the original film—you can tell these guys are die-hard fans of the original movie. Plays the Unrated version of the movie.
• The “Out of Control” Track* (1:52:52)
  The actors pop up over the picture to provide commentary on selected scenes during the film. I would have preferred a true cast commentary track, or else a featurette with this scene-specific commentary so that you wouldn’t need to fast forward through the film just to find the 10-15 minutes of actual commentary. Plays the Theatrical version of the movie.
• The “Reunion” Reunion: Re-Launching the Series (10:32)
  The cast and crew talk about reuniting for the film. Includes footage from the actual table-read reunion.
• The Best of Biggs: Hangin’ with Jason B.* (3:37)
  The cast and crew talk about working with Jason Biggs.
• Lake Bake* (4:31)
  The cast and crew talk about working on the beach scenes.
• Dancing with the Oz* (2:50)
  Chris Klein and the creators talk about his dance scenes.
• American Gonad-iators: The Fight Scene* (4:13)
  Behind the scenes featurette on the fight scene.
• Jim’s Dad (2:47)
  Featurette on Euegene Levy and his return as Jim’s Dad in the film.
• Ouch! My Balls! (1:47)
  Featurette on how the guys are constantly hitting each other in the balls.
• American Reunion Yearbook*
  Interactive yearbook featuring memorable clips of each character as well as the actors describing where their characters are now.

Final Thoughts:

The picture was quite clear, but still a bit grainy. This was a stylistic choice by the creators, who wanted to use film over digital to give the film a softer look. I did not find this distracting, and it added a more natural, familiar feel to the movie. (Especially after marathoning the first three films before watching this one.) As for the sound, the film utilizes a lot of background music, but this was well-used and mixed. Dialog was clear—no complaints.

The bonus features were quite impressive on this set. I watched everything offered on the disc. The numerous featurettes were informative and entertaining. The only disappointment was the on-screen selected-scene cast commentary, which only provided 10-15 minutes of actual commentary. It would have been great to have a full cast commentary track, but all the behind the scenes featureettes definitely make up for this.

Overall, I found the film quite entertaining. It does a great job mixing all types of humor with drama and development of these characters we’ve grown to love through the first three films. Fans of the original should definitely enjoy this latest addition to the franchise.