Writer: Lester Gan Wai Lun

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Watch this if you liked: “American Pie” franchise, “Van Wilder” franchise & “Harold & Kumar”

It has been over a decade when the very first "American Pie" film came to the big screens, and boy was it legendary. Then there was the sequel which wasn't as good but acceptable because well, we were just such great fans of the first, and then there was the sequel to that sequel which pretty much sucked, and the list just keeps going on and on where new directors and writers tried to recreate the excitement and originality that the first carried by introducing new characters and such, but sadly, they all failed miserably.

Well, writers-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg thought they could do better, and by basing it on the original writer Adam Herz's characters, they have written a pretty epic story where all of our beloved "American Pie" characters return to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion as working adults, putting its audiences in a state of pure nostalgia (provided that you watched it 13 years ago).

In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle are now married but are struggling to keep the spark alive ever since the birth of their child, Kevin becomes a house-husband, Finch goes on adventures around the world, Oz is the host for a sports show and a star in a dance program, and last but not least, Stifler is the same old Stifler that we know and love. Many other actors and actresses from the first two "American Pie" films were also back, including Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) and Stifler's mum (Jennifer Coolidge). Jim's neighbor Kara whom he used to babysit is now 18 and longs for him.

This film is successful because of the reunion feel it brings, as if the audiences themselves are part of the cast and have now been reunited. Some jokes would never have worked if one is not acquainted with the original films, and while we laugh out loud in togetherness, we feel pity for those who sit silently wondering what the joke is about.

There are two kinds of laughter in the cinema, the first is the contagious kind where you are fooled into laughing out loud even though it isn't actually funny, and then there is the kind of comedy that will create genuine laughter, the kind that makes you laugh yourself silly even when you're watching it by yourself, thankfully, this film falls in the latter's category.

It took 13 years to recreate and redevelop these characters into something worth watching, sadly though it felt like that was the end of the series. A tip for moviegoers, familiarize yourselves with the first two "American Pie" films, and if you hate it, maybe "American Reunion" is just not for you.

Cinema Online, 06 April 2012