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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.

American Reunion
Group picture of the cast.
Theatrical release poster mirrors that of the 1999 film
Directed by
Written by
  • Jon Hurwitz
  • Hayden Schlossberg
Based onCharacters created
by Adam Herz
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDaryn Okada[1]
Edited byJeff Betancourt[1]
Music byLyle Workman
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • April 6, 2012 (2012-04-06) (United States)
Running time
113 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[2]
Box office$235 million[2]

American Reunion (also known as American Pie 4: Reunion or American Pie: Reunion in certain countries[3]) is a 2012 American sex comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. It is the fourth and final installment in the American Pie theatrical series. The film's ensemble cast features many actors who reprise their roles from the previous three films, including Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy, Tara Reid, and Mena Suvari, among others. The film follows former East Great Falls High School classmates who return to their hometown for a reunion for their graduating class.[4]

Released in the United States on April 6, 2012, American Reunion received generally mixed reviews from critics, but was a worldwide box office success, grossing $235 million against a $50 million budget.

Plot

[edit]

Nine years after getting married,[a] Jim Levenstein and his wife Michelle are in a sexual rut following the birth of their infant son. Kevin Myers is a househusband and architect, Chris "Oz" Ostreicher is a celebrity sportscaster dating Mia, a superficial supermodel, and Paul Finch has been traveling the world. The four friends return from their disparate locations to East Great Falls, Michigan, for their thirteen year high school reunion, and are joined by Steven Stifler, their obnoxious friend whom they hoped to avoid.

The group spends the next day at the lake with Michelle and her old Band Camp friend Selena, whom Finch bonds with over his travels. Kevin and Oz reunite with their high school girlfriends Vicky and Heather, and meet Heather's boyfriend Ron. AJ, a young thug, steals bikini tops from Mia and other women before fleeing on a jetski. Seeking revenge, the boys trace AJ and his friends to a beach where Jim overhears his plans to take the virginity of Kara—Jim's neighbor whom he used to babysit—now she has turned 18. Stifler destroys their jetskis before fleeing.

Instead of spending time with Michelle, Jim accompanies the others to the Falls to reminisce about high school, where they come across teens partying for Kara's birthday. Unsatisfied with Heather, Ron suggests swapping girlfriends for sex to a disgusted Oz. Kara drunkenly tries to seduce Jim, but he reluctantly rejects her. She passes out and Jim recruits Stifler, Finch, and Oz to distract her parents while he sneaks her into their house, worried Michelle will think he cheated on her. Jim returns home and falls asleep without having sex with Michelle, leaving her despondent about their failing marriage. The following morning, Kevin wakes up in bed with Vicky and assumes they had drunken sex. She confirms they did not but is upset he thinks so lowly of her.

Jim encourages his widower dad, Noah, to begin dating, and takes him to Stifler's house party where he meets Stifler's mother Jeanine. After Oz is deliberately embarrassed by Ron, he admits he misses Heather and kisses her. Mia finds out and breaks up with Oz, confessing to her own affair. Jim waits upstairs for Michelle so they can have sex, but Kara again tries to seduce him before AJ intervenes, and a fight ensues. Jim explains the situation to Michelle and states he does not care about Kara, causing both women to leave upset. The police arrive and arrest Finch for stealing a motorbike. Stifler mocks Finch's predicament, and the boys confront him over being a bad friend and his inability to move on from high school. Stifler reminds them that they have ignored and avoided him for years.

The next day, Noah offers Jim advice on repairing his marriage. At the reunion, Finch admits that he lied about his travels because he was embarrassed to admit that he had a normal job as a retail manager, and stole the bike from his neglectful boss. Feeling guilty about their treatment of Stifler, the boys visit him at work and apologize, recognizing his unhappiness with his life and admitting that none of their lives are perfect, but that Stifler is their friend. Stifler confronts his verbally abusive boss and quits.

The group returns to the reunion together. Kevin reconciles with Vicky and introduces her to his wife, Finch makes amends for lying to Selena, and Oz and Heather choose to be together. Stifler is offered work as a wedding planner, and also meets and has sex with Finch's mother Rachel. Jim makes up with Michelle and they have sex in the school's music room.

The boys meet up the following day: Oz reveals he is staying in town with Heather; Finch intends to tour Europe with Selena; and Jim apologizes to Kara, who plans to save her virginity for a good man like him. Kevin proposes a pact for the group to meet up every year from now on.

Cast

[edit]
The film's cast, at Harry's Cafe de Wheels in Sydney 2012.
  • Jason Biggs as Jim Levenstein, an office worker and Michelle's husband who experiences marital difficulties during the weekend
  • Alyson Hannigan as Michelle Flaherty, Jim's wife who tries to have sex with Jim to rekindle their marriage
  • Chris Klein as Chris "Oz" Ostreicher, a famous television personality who is unhappy with his glamorous lifestyle
  • Thomas Ian Nicholas as Kevin Myers, a stay-at-home architect who gets the group together
  • Seann William Scott as Steven "Steve" Stifler, a law firm temp who is frowned upon by the others
  • Eddie Kaye Thomas as Paul Finch, an intellectual who claims to have an adventurous lifestyle
  • Eugene Levy as Noah Levenstein, Jim's father who is still broken up over his wife's death
  • Tara Reid as Vicky, who lives in New York and hangs out with the group before the reunion
  • Mena Suvari as Heather, Oz's ex-girlfriend who is now dating Ron
  • John Cho as MILF Guy #2, who is organizing the reunion and has lost contact with his other "MILF" friend
  • Jennifer Coolidge as Jeanine Stifler, Stifler's mom who is looking for new romance
  • Natasha Lyonne as Jessica
  • Dania Ramirez as Selena, a bartender who has changed drastically from her high school days
  • Katrina Bowden as Mia, Oz's famous model girlfriend who has partying tendencies
  • Jay Harrington as Dr. Ron, Heather's boyfriend
  • Ali Cobrin as Kara, an 18-year-old girl who Jim used to babysit
  • Chuck Hittinger as AJ, Kara's boyfriend
  • Shannon Elizabeth as Nadia
  • Chris Owen as Sherman
  • Justin Isfeld as MILF Guy #1
  • Charlene Amoia as Ellie, Kevin's wife
  • Vik Sahay as Prateek Duraiswamy, Stifler's boss
  • Molly Cheek as Jim's Mom
  • Neil Patrick Harris as Celebrity Dance-Off Host
  • Chad Ochocinco as himself
  • Rebecca De Mornay (uncredited) as Rachel Finch, Finch's mother

Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]

In October 2008, Universal Pictures announced it was planning to produce a fourth theatrically released sequel to the first film.[5] In April 2010, the film entered pre-production, with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg signing on to write and direct with plans to reunite the whole cast of the primary series.[6]

Casting

[edit]

In March 2011, it was announced that Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott and Eugene Levy had signed on to reprise their roles.[7] Biggs and Scott were granted executive producer credits and also helped convince the other previous cast members to return.[8] In April 2011, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, and Mena Suvari signed on.[9][10][11] The following month, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Eddie Kaye Thomas,[12] Shannon Elizabeth,[13] and Jennifer Coolidge[14] signed on. In June and July 2011, John Cho[15] and Natasha Lyonne[16] 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".[17] Ali Cobrin was cast in the role. National Football League wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and actor Neil Patrick Harris have cameo roles.[18][19]

Jason Biggs and Seann 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.[20]

Filming

[edit]

On a budget of $50 million,[21] principal photography took place from early June to August 2011 in metro Atlanta, Georgia.[13][22] In late June, filming took place at Conyers, Monroe and Woodruff Park.[19][23] While in Conyers, filming took place at Heritage High School’s football stadium and band room. 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.[23]

During the last week of July, production moved to Cumming to film at Mary Alice Park on Lake Lanier and included about 100 extras.[24] 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.[24] Suvari finished filming her scenes on August 4.[25]

Soundtrack

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[26]
No.TitlePerformed byLength
1."Last Night"Good Charlotte3:40
2."You Make Me Feel..." (featuring Sabi)Cobra Starship3:35
3."Here Comes the Hotstepper"Stooshe3:36
4."Wannamama"Pop Levi3:28
5."My First Kiss" (featuring Kesha)3OH!33:13
6."I'm a Man"The Blue Van3:49
7."Bring It On Home"Kopek3:08
8."Rump Shaker" (featuring Teddy Riley)Wreckx-N-Effect3:57
9."Wannabe" (radio edit)Spice Girls2:53
10."I'll Make Love to You"Boyz II Men4:02
11."This Is How We Do It"Montell Jordan3:59
12."The Good Life"Hassahn Phenomenon3:21
13."My Generation"Thomas Nicholas Band2:28
14."Class of '99"Lyle Workman5:49
15."Na Na Na"My Chemical Romance4:13
16."American Reunion"Lyle Workman3:26
17."Laid"James2:37
18."London Town"Greg Hatwell2:54

The two score tracks were recorded by a 60-70 piece orchestra conducted by John Ashton Thomas who also orchestrated Workman's score for the orchestral sessions. The orchestra was recorded at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at the Warner Bros. lot by Shawn Murphy who also mixed the score.

Release

[edit]

American Reunion was released in North American theaters on April 6, 2012.

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

Reception

[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.[28] On its second week of release, it dropped to number 5 at the box office with a weekend total of $10,473,810.[29]

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

Critical response

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 45% based on 186 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[31] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[32]

According to Roger Ebert, who gave the film three out of four stars:[33]

The charm of American Pie was the relative youth and naïveté 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 déjà-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:[34]

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."[35]

Accolades

[edit]

Year Award Category Recipients Result
2012 Teen Choice Awards[36] Choice Movie – Comedy Universal Pictures Nominated
Choice Movie Actor – Comedy Jason Biggs Nominated
Choice Movie Actress – Comedy Alyson Hannigan Nominated
2013 BMI Film & TV Awards Film Music Lyle Workman Won
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Over 25 Million Dollars Jojo Villanueva Nominated

Future

[edit]

In August 2017, Seann William Scott said in an interview that the fourth film probably had not made enough at the domestic box office to warrant another film.[37] In August 2018, Tara Reid said she met with the directors, with them saying that the fifth film will happen, and that filming could begin soon.[38] In September 2022, it was announced that Universal 1440 was developing another spin off American Pie Presents movie with Sujata Day.[39]

Notes

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  1. ^ As depicted in American Wedding (2003)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "American Pie 4 (2012)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d "American Reunion". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  3. ^ "American Pie: Reunion". Odeon Cinemas. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  4. ^ "American Reunion". AFI. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Sciretta, Peter (October 28, 2008). "Universal Eyeing American Pie 4? |". /Film. Archived from the original on August 18, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  6. ^ Moody, Mike (April 2, 2010). "'Kumar' creators for 'American Pie 4'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  7. ^ 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 13, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  8. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (October 12, 2011). "All the 'Pie' ingredients are there in 'American Reunion'". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike (April 11, 2011). "Alyson Hannigan Back For 'American Reunion'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  10. ^ Garcia, Jennifer (April 18, 2011). "Chris Klein Officially Back for More American Pie". People. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  11. ^ "Mena excited about American Reunion". Northwich Guardian. Press Association. April 20, 2011. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  12. ^ 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 15, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  13. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 27, 2011). "Reunion On 'American Reunion' Complete: Shannon Elizabeth Signs For Fourquel". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  14. ^ "Jennifer Coolidge Joins American Pie Reunion". Contact Music. May 23, 2011. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  15. ^ Ayres, Tom (June 11, 2011). "John Cho is back for 'American Reunion'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  16. ^ Uddin, Zakia (July 13, 2011). "Natasha Lyonne joins 'American Reunion'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  17. ^ "Casting Call for American Reunion". ComingSoon.net. May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
  18. ^ Goldberg, Matt (June 29, 2011). "Football Star Chad Ochocinco to Cameo in AMERICAN REUNION". Collider.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  19. ^ 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 July 4, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  20. ^ Matthew Bellonni, 'Who Got Paid What for the 'American Pie' Reunion', The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Sept 2011 accessed 14 Sept 2012
  21. ^ Belloni, Matthew (September 29, 2011). "Who Got Paid What for the 'American Pie' Reunion". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  22. ^ "Bye, Bye American Pie". The Newton Citizen. August 13, 2011. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Floyd, Michelle (June 25, 2011). "NHS to be location in 'American Pie' movie". The Newton Citizen. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ "Mena Suvari — Mena Suvari Curious About Pie Return". Contactmusic.com. August 5, 2011. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  26. ^ American Reunion at AllMusic
  27. ^ "American Reunion Blu-ray and DVD Arrive July 10th". May 10, 2012.
  28. ^ McClintock, Pamela (April 8, 2012). "'Hunger Games' Sinks 'American Reunion,' 'Titanic 3D'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  29. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for April 13-15, 2012". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  30. ^ "American Reunion (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  31. ^ "American Wedding reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  32. ^ "American Reunion – CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  33. ^ Ebert, Roger (April 4, 2012). "American Reunion". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  34. ^ Pinkerton, Nick (April 4, 2012). "The Shelf Life of the Clinton-era Tested in Titanic 3D and American Reunion". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  35. ^ "American Reunion". Rolling Stone. April 5, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  36. ^ Ng, Philiana (June 14, 2012). "Teen Choice Awards 2012: 'Breaking Dawn,' 'Snow White' Lead Second Wave of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  37. ^ Thompson, Simon Y. (April 9, 2018). "Seann William Scott Talks 'Goon' Sequel, More 'American Pie' And 'Dude, Where's My Car?'". Forbes. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  38. ^ "American Pie 5 May Shoot Soon According to Tara Reid". Movieweb. August 2, 2018.
  39. ^ Sun, Rebecca (September 29, 2022). "New 'American Pie' Movie in the Works From Universal, 'Definition Please' Filmmaker Sujata Day (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
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