There used to be a time when the American Pie franchise was the king of the raunchy teen comedy and a person couldn’t look at an apple pie without thinking dirty thoughts. With the main cast growing up and moving on, the franchise dwindled asdirect-to-video spin-offs attempted to cash in on the success of the first films but ultimately failed. Can American Reunion revitalize the franchise or is this one high school reunion you shouldn’t attend?

Thirteen years have passed and the East Great Falls class of 1999 is returning for their high school reunion, albeit a little late for the 10 year anniversary. The film marks the return of the original cast including Jason Biggs (Jim), Alyson Hannigan (Michelle), Thomas Ian Nicholas (Kevin), Chris Klein (Oz), Eddie Kaye Thomas (Finch), Tar Reid (Vicky), and the infamous Seann William Scott (Stifler). Despite 13 years having past, the group is still up to the usual shenanigans that made them all friends in the first place.

Fans of the original American Pie trilogy will be pleased to know that American Reunion brings with it a feeling of nostalgia with plenty of jokes, references, and characters that made the American Pie movies what they are today. Sure, many of the characters have families or fancy jobs but returning to East Great Falls makes it seem like they never left. Naturally, Stifler remains the most unchanged and is the source of most of the laughs. The best part of the film is just being able to see everyone reunited again.

While the majority of the “good” jokes can be seen in the film’s red band trailer, American Reunion does a decent attempt at revitalizing the genre. There’s plenty of sexual humor, awkward moments between Jim and his dad (Eugene Levy), and some downright shockers that’ll be forever implanted in your brain. I feel it capitalizes on the reunion aspect a bit too much, as it doesn’t really bring anything new to the franchise. If you’ve seen any of the American Pies before, you know the basic gist of the film.

Overall, American Reunion satisfies that itch American Pie fans have been trying to scratch for years. It reminds us of what made the first films so enjoyable, and although it doesn’t do much to advance the franchise, it’s good for some old fashioned laughs.

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