Film Reviews Blog: Remember 'American Pie'? Here's The Reunion

It all started with a warm apple pie 13 years ago. Now, with the fourth installment in the franchise (not counting the American Pie Presents films), the boys are back in East Great Falls, Michigan.

We first met Jim, Kevin, Oz and Finch making a pact to lose their virginity (along with Stifler and his antics), then we went to college with them, attended Jim and Michelle's wedding, and now we arrive at their high school reunion.

With their 13-year (because they missed the 10-year and no one would care for the 20-year) high school reunion coming up, the original gang seems to be up to the same formulaic shenanigans and crude jokes. Not to say they aren't funny or entertaining but "American Reunion" is exactly what you'd expect: Jim goes to his dad for advice; Stifler is still an obnoxious child; Finch is Finch, and then there are sex jokes, drinking, parties, nudity, and some more sex jokes, followed by some more nudity.

If you're a fan of the franchise, then you'll enjoy the film. It manages to maintain the same sense of humor that made "American Pie" so popular. Sure most of them are just sex jokes, but some of the punch lines blindside you and pack a good punch.

The biggest appeal for fans is that, like a high school reunion, the original cast comes back together (some, briefly). We see where they are in life, and if their stories turned out like expected. We're thrown a few real life twists, like being a widower, having kids, and working dead-end jobs.

Each character's appearance makes some reference to the original film. Some seem to merely go for the easy joke that we remember them for, and others make you think about life after East Great Falls High; who's grown up and who's still stuck in high school.

However, unlike the previous films, Reunion lacks a central conflict. In high school the boys were trying to get laid; in college they were trying to stay together; and finally, they were trying to make the perfect wedding. This time around, they have their own problems. Jim and Michelle are dealing with life after kids, Stifler is stuck in his high school years, and Finch is still looking for higher enlightenment. But, through all the sex jokes and nostalgia, perhaps Reunion's message simply is that after high school, life's problems aren't always communal.

There's no denying that this is a trip down memory lane. Yet, with all the good and bad moments of the film, it still manages to remind us of why we enjoyed that first slice of pie 13 years ago.

The film is rated "R" for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, language, brief drug use and teen drinking.