“I think this may be the first American… movie I see in theaters. But the first one was kind of a big deal in high school.
So if it was released in ’99 then that means I was just starting freshman year. I had a weird relationship with this movie. The whole rated R thing meant I wasn’t allowed to see it, and the fact that it was such a raunchy sex-charged comedy meant that I _really_ wasn’t allowed. I’m not even sure how or when I first saw it (but obv it was in secret where my parents wouldnt find me), but it was the first of this style of comedy that I’d ever seen. As a good little Christian girl, I felt incredibly guilty, like I was doing something very wrong, but I was still completely drawn into it. It was just such a whole new movie world for me. Oh and then some time having watched it a few times I caught an edited version on cable. Turns out, if you take out all of the sex jokes and R rated material, you have a very bland chick flick. So bizarre.
American Reunion took a good long while to find its groove. If I didnt already know and love these characters so much, I would have been completely bored. I was very interested to see where they’d ended up after so long, but much of the plot was dull. And the raunchy humor that the franchise is so known for just felt forced. I think it was mostly because the guys just seemed too old to be pulling the same old schitck. They knew there was a certain expectation in the jokes, but they didnt work as well as they did when the guys were doofy high school guys.
But then we got to the actual reunion scenes and everything fell into place. For me, the point where it really hit me was when a certain song underscored a key interaction, and the nostalgia hit me right in the heart. And the whole movie just came together beautifully. From there is also where the franchise cameo appearances really ramped up as well. I may not have remembered the specifics of what various characters did in earlier films, but there was just enough familiarity to make me happy.
The American franchise also puts together some amazing soundtracks. What I love love LOVED about this one is that it included some of my current favorites, as well as a bunch of 90s classics. Most were just background, but a few that were more foreground were tied in very well.
I did enjoy seeing the gang back together. I’d forgotten how much I love Jason Biggs, and I really hope we can see more of him around. Allison Hannigan is lovely as always in a role that’s exactly in the middle of the Willow <--> Lily spectrum. Nice to know that some things, like Sean William Scott, never change. I also really loved watching Chris Klein, and I truly hope he makes a comeback. I think Shannon Elizabeth and Natasha Lyonne’s appearances could have been a bit bigger. I never thought I’d say I wanted to see more Shannon Elizabeth.
Again, it took a while to get there, but the last twenty minutes really made the movie worthwhile.
American Reunion – \m/ \m/ \m/
This movie also got me thinking a lot about my future high school reunion. My high school class was ’03 which means I’m a year shy of my 10 year. I still haven’t quite decided how I wanna handle it. On the one hand, I am curious to see where people ended up, but on the other, I dont actually wanna interact with them. I had such a bad high school experience that I ran away as far as I \m/ could and cut off all contact with them. I dont think I can handle all the fake smiles and having to suppress anger at people who probably dont even realize how they treated me. But living well is the best revenge, and I really am happy with where everything eventually ended up for me. It may not be quite where I envisioned ten years ago, but it’s good. And right now, I dont think it’s worth disrupting for what would likely be the awkwardest weekend ever.”