Locations/Showings
Featuring Mainstream &
Art House Choices

Forum
Scary Movie 3 was neither scary nor a movie. Discuss this & more.

Reviews
Glorifications & Executions of the latest Movies, DVDs, and television shows.

Flashback Flicks
Krull and other "Lost" Classics get their day in the sun.

Crapmasterpieces
So darn crappy they're hilariously brilliant.

TV Highlights
Boob Tube Playtime!

Calendar
A movie/tv related calendar. Covers openings, DVD release dates, conventions etc.

American Wedding; Just like bachelor life
American Wedding takes too long to set up more of the same

Starring: Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy, Sean William Scott, Alyson Hannigan
Director: Jesse Dylan

Reviewed by Kevin Cunningham

It's quite possible that the first half hour of American Wedding is one of the worst pieces of filmmaking I have ever seen in a Hollywood film. And I'm not just talking about a bland story, unfunny jokes, or anything like that. The lighting is terribly bad with the kind of shadowing mistakes that most film students making their first films avoid. The editing is horrible, cutting scenes off in unnatural places, and preventing any kind of rhythm from developing. And most of this part of the film is purely exposition. Forget unfunny jokes, there just aren't any jokes outside of the opening sequence.

That's a shame, because the opening sequence is one of the few genuinely funny parts of the film, allowing the awkward charm of Jason Biggs, the nymphomanaical charm of Alyson Hannigan, and the inept charm of Eugene Levy to shine in ways that made the first film a comedic classic.

Looking back at the first film makes this film look pretty bad, even worse than it is. All the established stars that were attached to the first film ,Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, are gone . What's left are almost all the actors who were made by the original minus the original nudie girl Shannon Elizabeth. Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy, & Seann William Scott are, not surprisingly, the focus of the film.

By the third installment, the film's focus had shifted from being a genuinely charming look at the awkward search for devirginization to being a cheap thrill for people who want to see naked and explicit sexual humor but don't want to watch porn. This point is confirmed by listening to the director's introduction to the "unrated" version of the film. Director Jesse Dylan (whose previous credits include solely How High and a "special thanks" for Matrix Revisited) says that the unrated version includes footage of the bachelor party shot specifically for the DVD.

This, of course, is the nod to perhaps the most important contribution to filmmaking that American Pie made: the popularization of the "Unrated" DVD. Deleted scenes had been part of DVDs for a while, but it wasn't until American Pie really integrated the "too hot for the Movie Ratings" scenes into the movie that a mainstream Hollywood movie was promoting an unrated version to the public. At that point, it had been confined to the most extreme or dirty movies: now films shoot things they know won't pass muster at the MPAA because they know that it'll be on the DVD and help the DVD sell so much more.

The extra scenes aren't much, truly. The characters don't even stay in character. All it is is a bunch of actors with two naked girls and a basic thread, essentially improving as much as they can. But, it is naked girls, and for now, that's enough to draw fans. The bachelor party itself is a disappointing nudity fest, skimming over things that could be really funny and just touching on the kink and awkwardness that can happen at one. I suggest renting Really Bad Things to see how crazy and wild a bachelor party can get. Just turn it off right after the party.

The rest of the movie isn't very bad. After the bachelor party, the movie carries along pretty much as expected. The film attempts some cheap humor, including points about genital shaving and the writing of vows. The majority of the film focuses back on the ever annoying Stifler and uptight Finch, the most successful of which has them acting like the other to try and impress Michelle's sister, in town for the wedding. Scott is much more compelling in other work he's done recently, most notably The Rundown. Stifler remains annoying and offensive, and it doesn't help much that now he's been softened to be more likable.

In the end, this movie is worth seeing if for no other reason than to see what's become of (some of) the American Pie gang. But don't expect to much, and hope that the American Pie legacy isn't further shredded by more sequels in the future.

Rating	Film:(2 1/2 out of 4 stars)
	Extras: (3out of 4 stars)
	Overall: (2 1/2 out of 4 stars)

Want to discuss this, and other topics, with fellow fans?

Post your thoughts in the SJ Fanboy Forum now!