Welcome to the reunion of the Class of 1999 from East Great Falls High. In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago return for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship.

It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) married while Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) and Vicky (Tara Reid) said goodbye. Oz (Chris Klein) and Heather (Mena Suvari) grew apart, but Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) still longs for Stifler’s Mom (Jennifer Coolidge). And Stifler (Seann William Scott) remains the same as he ever was.

Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens they were. Completing the core group returning for the long-awaited American Reunion are comedy legend Eugene Levy as Jim’s Dad, Natasha Lyonne as the sexually-wise Jessica, John Cho and Justin Isfeld as the world’s biggest MILF enthusiasts, Chris Owen as The Shermanator and Shannon Elizabeth as Jim’s first on-screen tryst, Nadia.

They are joined by a supporting group of actors new to the series: Dania Ramirez as Selena, the East Great Falls ugly duckling whom no one thought would become so gorgeous;

Katrina Bowden as Mia, Oz’s vapid model girlfriend; Chad Ochocinco as himself, playing Oz’s on-air co-host; Jay Harrington as Dr. Ron, Heather’s pompous cardiologist boyfriend; Ali Cobrin as Kara, Jim’s sexy next-door neighbor; and Chuck Hittinger as AJ, Kara’s idiot boyfriend.

The reunion takes off

Producers Craig Perry, Warren Zide and Chris Moore have been with the American Pie films since day one and were determined to give fans another glimpse into the lives of the characters we have grown to love over the years. “Six years ago, I started coming to Universal every six or nine months to pitch some version of the movie,” says Moore. “Finally, the reunion idea caught on, and with the project greenlit, the challenge was to see if all of the original cast members would be on board.”

“One of the great things about the American Pie franchise is that it speaks to moments everyone can relate to,” reflects Perry. “We’ve come to know and love this specific group of characters because they’ve gone through situations we can all identify with, but the outcome with them is always much funnier and more outrageous. I think that’s the reason these movies have always been fan favorites and have become something of classics.”

The filmmakers agreed that the only way to do justice to East Great Falls was to ensure that the entire group returned for the reunion. Cast member after cast member jumped at the chance to reunite with old friends. “It’s hard to believe that we first met these characters 13 years ago,” notes Zide. “It’s a testament to how beloved they have become that all of our actors returned to revisit these career-defining roles. I’m as excited as the rest of the audience to see them back together again.”

Once the American Pie family started to fall in place, the next thing the studio had to do was to secure a writing/directing team willing to take on a sequel in an already established franchise. “The issue with making a third sequel,” says Moore, “is that it’s hard to get people who want to come to do it, because the characters have already been created.”

Fortunately for the producers and Pie fans across the globe, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg were more than up for the challenges. In fact, they were adamant about getting the job. The writers of all three films in the Harold & Kumar series (and directors of the second one), Hurwitz and Schlossberg were chomping at the bit to re-create the world of American Pie while bringing their trademark stamp to it. Both admit that they have been die-hard fans of the series since their first viewings.

They have lost count of how many times they saw the first film when it came out in 1999. “There were a lot of youth comedies then, but they were all PG-13,” Schlossberg explains. “Jon and I always liked more outrageous comedy, and American Pie was the first movie of our generation that had young people acting and talking like young people in a real, risqué sex comedy. That was totally up our alley, and we loved it.”

Schlossberg and Hurwitz have been close friends since high school and have a shared sense of humor. Offers Hurwitz: “We went to high school in a similar time as these characters. For a lot of people our age, we feel like this was our high school. What we loved about American Pie is the ensemble.

It felt like you knew each and every single one of these people, and we were able to connect with each character in a different way.” The filmmaking partners believe that the secret to the series’ success is the balance of big, outrageous comedy with relatable moments, all experienced by real characters.

Adds Schlossberg: “The first film had a bunch of really dirty things, and yet, while that’s happening, Chris’ and Mena’s characters have a love story. Tara’s character was consumed with her ‘first time’ and waiting until her boyfriend says, ‘I love you.’ That’s what high school is. You have guys obsessed with sex, but then everyone is consumed with relationships and love.”

“I get people who will say, ‘I’m the Jim in my group of friends’ or ‘I’m the Stifler’ or ‘I’m like Oz,’” adds Moore. “American Pie defined this coming-of-age in 1999, and that coming-of-age was much more emotional than just hijinks.”

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Because the entire original cast wanted to come back, populating the film was easy. Says Jon Hurwitz, writer and director: “What’s been exciting about the entire cast is that everyone came here motivated to kick ass.

They care about their characters, and it was fun getting input from the actors. We were writing it as fans, and we were writing it as filmmakers. But talking to each of these actors to shape the character and where they are now with them has been amazing.”

Jason Biggs returns to star as the perpetually horny Jim, and he now tackles the additional role of executive producer. “Jason is unbelievable,” commends Hurwitz. “Every take, he gives you so many different options. He’s absolutely fearless. When we were in preproduction and doing rewrites, we discussed the idea of adding one more set piece for him. I sent him an e-mail asking, ‘Do you have any interest in showing your dick?’ His reply was, ‘I will do anything for comedy, as long as it’s funny.’ And he did.”

“As an actor I went further than I’ve gone before,” reveals Biggs. “We had the freedom to go to these places comedically that many actors don’t. That’s why we’ve been able to avoid being gratuitous with the comedy. This series has never been about being gross just to be gross or trying to insert shock value. It’s all earned because these are characters people relate to. There’s real heart in the movies, in all of them.”

Biggs has long believed what many of us see in the films of the franchise: The wildness of the antics is balanced by heart. Still, he’s not above going, ahem, balls-out for a laugh. “I hope people respond, because I put myself out there,” he says. “I put out more than I’ve ever shown, and I’m not talking emotionally. I literally showed more of my body than ever before. I don’t know how to top that…maybe the next stop is porn?”

Alyson Hannigan returns as sexy band geek Michelle, now a mother of a young son. She is married to Jim and taking on the role of the quintessential mom/wife, while fighting to keep her sex drive alive. “Very much like Stifler, Michelle was sort of one-note in the first film,” explains Hurwitz. “It’s fun that as the franchise has grown, she has developed into much more of a three-dimensional character.”

The past 13 years have been good to the actress, who has become one of the most recognizable faces on TV with her enormously successful CBS series. “We’re huge fans of Alyson’s,” says writer Hayden Schlossberg. “We love her on How I Met Your Mother and in these movies. She’s got great timing and great heart. With just a look, she brings so much.”

Discussing her character, Hannigan says: “Obviously, Michelle has aged, and I was worried about how to bring her quirkiness into an adult level without her seeming like she was still in high school. But Jon and Hayden did such a great job with the script, and it wasn’t hard to find a happy medium.

She has matured, but she’s still quirky.” When it comes to her on-screen husband, Hannigan was happy to be part of the reunion. She reflects: “Jason and I have always had such a great chemistry and rapport, and it’s fun to play off of one another. We don’t have to work hard to create chemistry; it’s just effortless.”

Seann William Scott returns as the culture-defining Stifler and also earns his stripes as an executive producer on the film. Comments Schlossberg: “Seann’s such a sweetheart, and yet when he turns it on as Stifler, he can make you easily laugh. His face is chiseled; it’s like a comedy weapon. He knows how to use his eyes, smile and his jawline, and he has great comedy instincts. The combination gives him a unique energy that is virtually trademarked to this character.”

“What was fun for us is that we had Seann stretch his skill set beyond what you’ve seen with Stifler,” adds Hurwitz. “Seann’s fearless, and we get to be emotionally invested in the character now.

He will bring you tons of laughs, but a lot of the emotional core of this movie is through Stifler. Seann got into it, and you feel for Stifler.” Still, one of the scenes the directors wanted to pay homage to was Stifler walking through parties— shooting on his Steadicam and harassing women in the office, as opposed to at his high-school house parties. That Stifler never will change.

The actor says that working again with his longtime friends brought back a flood of memories. When Scott got the script for the first American Pie, he had been in Los Angeles for three years, auditioning while he worked at Home Depot. “The character wasn’t very likable at all,” Scott recalls.

“He was in three scenes, and he was just a straight-up jerk. I was thinking, ‘I’m not sure I would even want to play this role.’ But I felt comfortable taking a risk.” Scott says he came up with a character who was a combination of five different guys with whom he’d gone to school. He added a bit of improv, and Stifler was born. “I wanted him to be the guy you’re not supposed to like.” Scott acknowledges that the role “is so much more fun now.

My sense of humor has changed. I’m weirder and a little bit bolder. It’s fantastic to play a character who is in his thirties and doing things that other 30-year olds really want to do. Stifler is the person who hasn’t changed, but the world around him has. He’s still living in the world of high school.”

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Dark Horse Comics has released Issue 4 of their ongoing continuation of the cult TV show, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. When we last left our heroine, she had been betrayed by her erstwhile ally, Severin. The issue begins with a flashback showing Severin working his mojo on a vampire in a bid to gain information about his girlfriend, Alessandra. He seems to be able to steal magic from vampires, but in doing so, he kills the underlying human.

A mysterious stranger told Severin that he needed to destroy Buffy. As he lunges to attack her and steal her power, he taunts her in typical Buffy-villain fashion. As they grapple, both the San Francisco Police Department and her former vampire love interest, Spike, converge on her. The former plan to arrest her, while the latter is trying desperately to save her.

This issue turned out to be a bit of a letdown, actually. The writers seemed to be treading water throughout much of the text, and the fight between Buffy and Severin was not terribly dramatic. A bunch of panels showing Severin gripping Buffy while mysterious green energy dances around them does not make for a very compelling fight. It almost felt like the fight scenes were being used as filler in between the scenes that were happening elsewhere in the city.

I do not want to give away too many spoilers, but the end of the issue wraps up the ‘Buffy as fugitive’ plot arc in a way that just felt rushed. It seemed to end because the writers needed it to end, rather than ending in a natural fashion.

The dialogue also seemed to suffer in this issue. There were a number of instances where writer Andrew Chambliss seemed to be trying too hard to capture Joss Whedon’s famed Buffyspeak (worst line of the issue: “I’ve just got to keep with the fighty until you use up all your snap, crackle, and pop.”) With Whedon, it seemed natural; with Chambliss, it tends to feel contrived.

In my review of Issue 3, I noted that the characters sometimes did not resemble the actors who played them on TV. That problem is even more pronounced in Issue 4. Willow has a brief walk-on part towards the end, but you would be hard-pressed to tell that she was once played by Alyson Hannigan. Buffy’s resemblance to Sarah Michelle Gellar is also at an  all-time low in this issue, and she still tends to look like she is twelve years old.

OVERALL GRADE: B-

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The sitcom started out as a show documenting the love life of Ted by way of flashbacks from the future. Ted, played by Josh Radnor, recollects to his children in the year 2030 of how he met their mother years earlier (remaining effectively faithful to the series’ distinctive title).  At the show’s core, it recounts how exactly Ted fell in love combined with the array of Ted friends, which include, Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) and Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) (Wikipedia).

When Ted’s best friend, played by Segel announces that he will propose to his girlfriend of many years portrayed by Hannigan.  With that declaration Ted feels a sense of urgency showing is desire to pick up the pace on his life.

With his best friend proposing, Ted hopes to discover love and makes it his pursuit of what the show ultimately centers around. With the aid of his friend, bachelor Barney (Harris), Ted is on a journey wherein he eventually meets who he believes to be his true love (Smulders).  Nonetheless, the comedy gains increasing momentum when it becomes apparent what Ted believes to be a romantic destiny isn’t exactly the most fitting conviction.

Coupled with this buffet of recollections and characters is the voice of Bob Saget who narrates the show in the past tense in order to portray the show’s comical happenings.

Beginning production in 2005, How I met Your Mother, has proven itself to have all the ingredients for an enduring television comedy having captured five Emmy Award wins over the years and maintaining solid ratings throughout its production.  The CBS show is such a grand success that the program station has recently stated that the comedy has been renewed for two more seasons.

This fall, September 19^th, the seventh season is scheduled to air, unquestionably a fact keeping viewers satisfied.

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