American Reunion/American Pie: Reunion (2012) - Another chapter in the odyssey of the sex pie

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Everyone is back for Jon Hurwitz and Haydn Schlossberg's American Reunion

QUICK REVIEW:

High school reunion # 13 is the one that the guys will reunite at.  And preferably without Stifler. They are in very different places in their lives, but are all very nostalgic about the reassembly.
Reunion doesn't invent anything novel, but continues in the same popular vein as the earlier films about the group of sex-obsessed characters. This is the fourth film in the theatrical series and the 8th in the franchise overall, (4 have been made without the major stars as straight-to-video movies.)
Some moments fall to the ground, (not least towards the end), and some of Reunion is too low-brow and exaggerated. But at other times it manages to amuse, - often also with its reliance on exaggerated situations. As when SPOILER Stifler drives with jet-skis after his four-wheel drive; or when Jim tries to sneak a dead-drunk and nude 18 year-old into the house next door; or some of Stifler's unwelcome surprises at the reunion.
Particularly Jason Biggs (Anything Else (2003)) and Sean William Scott (Role Models (2008)), - who are also executive producers this time around (meaning first of all that they earned a lot more money from Reunion than the earlier movies), - are good.
American Reunion keeps the form of the earlier, beloved Pie-sex comedies without ever striking up anything wildly imaginative.
The co-writer/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg has previously graced the world with their writing or/and directing of four Harold & Kumar movies, and they are now preparing a movie with the title Cherries, about three fathers that try to keep their daughters from having sex at Prom night.

Related review:

American Pie (1999) or, Losing It Before Prom 

Jennifer Coolidge and Eugene Levy in Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg's American Reunion

Watch the trailer here

Budget: 50 mil. $
Box office: 234.7 mil. $
= Big hit

What do you think of American Reunion and the other Pie-movies?
Looking forward to Cherries?

American Pie (1999) or, Losing It Before Prom

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+ Best High School Movie of the Year + Best Sex Comedy of the Year + Best Youth Movie of the Year 

The over-night major stars of Chris and Paul Weitz's American Pie exude youthful energy on the poster

Four friends make a pact to have sex before their high school prom. And by using such auxiliaries as apple pie, laxatives, Stifler's mother, a webcam and good, pure intentions, they eventually succeed.

American Pie, written by Adam Herz (Go Fish (2001, TV-series)) and directed by brothers Chris (About a Boy (2002)) and Paul Weitz (Grandma (2015)), is a generational hit and a modern classic in the youth sex-comedy genre. It's a sweet and funny high school-set comedy with a lot of laughs and a charming cast: 
Especially Jason Biggs (All at Once (2016)) and Eugene Levy (Serendipity (2001)) as father and son work very well. The music is very contemporary for its time, and therefore, for me at least, feels very nostalgic today. Though it seems simple, the film succeeds in catching lightning in a bottle, and no wonder that American Pie was a giant, worldwide hit and spawned many sequels and rip-offs.

Related posts:

Chris Weitz:  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or, Ginny's Fate: A Star Wars Calculation (co-writer) 

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Paul Weitz: Admission (2013) - Despite messy script, Fey is hilarious in Weitz's romcom  (director)

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 11 mil. $
Box office: 235.4 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 21.4 times the cost)
[American Pie premiered 7 July (Los Angeles, California) and runs 95 minutes. Shooting took place from July - September 1998 in California, including Los Angeles. Universal Pictures were not convinced of the film's promise and stupidly sold off the foreign rights in order to recoup their investment as fast as possible. The film opened #1 to an 18.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#3) and grossed 102.5 mil. $ (43.5 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. The film also made in excess of 109.5 mil. $ in global home video sales, further underlining its monster success. Chris and Paul Weitz returned with Down to Earth (2001). Biggs returned with an uncredited appearance in Detroit Rock City (1999) and in a real part in Boys and Girls (2000). The Weitz brothers were out, but the film spurred a franchise that continued with American Pie 2 (2001), American Wedding (2003) and American Reunion (2012) as well as 4 direct-to-video spin-offs. American Pie is fresh at 61 % with a 5.8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
 
What do you think of American Pie?

Anything Else (2003) - Allen's perfect, underrated millennial relationship comedy

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+ Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year + Best New York Movie of the Year + Best Romcom of the Year + Most Under-appreciated Movie of the Year

Being romantically involved with a complex, modern woman can be a heavy burden to bear, as this perky, up-beat poster for Woody Allen's Anything Else seems to suggest

Anything Else is the 33rd film from master New-Yorker writer-director Woody Allen (Deconstructing Harry (1997)). Opinions differ wildly on it.

We follow a young New York author, whose relationship with a very difficult young woman taps him of his energy, while he continually seeks advice and consolation from an aging artist, whom he befriends.

Jason Biggs (Orange Is the New Black (2013-17)) plays the young, neurotic 'young Allen'-like figure and does so extremely well, while Allen plays an endlessly quoting, paranoid, ultimately murderous Jew. Christina Ricci (War Flowers (2012)) is the 'eccentric' (read; borderline mad) woman. And in a supporting role as an amateurish literary agent, Danny De Vito (Be Cool (2005)) shines especially brightly. The film is all fantastically humorous fun, mixed with jazz, philosophy and amble doses of keen sarcasm.
And to all the complexities of life and love that the film presents a slice of, the simpler inclined cab driver that Allen quotes simply returns; "Ah well ... - It's like anything else." - Wherefrom the film gets its title.
The hilarious scenes are one after the other here, poignant and absurdly funny at the same time, in what I rank as an under-appreciated relationship comedy gemstone in Allen's late career.

Related posts:

 

Woody Allen: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess

Café Society (2016) - The greatest living American filmmaker hands us another splendid gem

Irrational Man (2015) - Allen's pleasant morality tale divertisement

2014 in films - according to Film Excess

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - Allen's irresistible French Riviera romance

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Blue Jasmine (2013) - Allen presenets Blanchett, a woman under the influence

Fading Gigolo (2013) - Turturro's pleasant turn as a high-end NY prostitute  (as actor)

To Rome with Love (2012) - Woody Allen's slightest film to date  

2011 in films - according to Film Excess

Midnight in Paris (2011) - Allen's zany (and a little depressing) crowd-pleaser  

Cassandra's Dream (2007) - Allen's well-laid but inconsequentiel English cul-de-sac  

Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date   

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) - Allen's hypnotic, noirish shenanigans 
Celebrity (1998) or, Stars in New York
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) - Sin and guilt up for laughs and rumination in unspectacular Allen work 
Broadyway Danny Rose (1984) or, Keep Your Heart   

Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Annie Hall (1977) or, My Relationship with Alvie Singer   

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972) - Allen's curious sex comedy is a riot
Bananas (1971) - Woody Allen's South American misadventure is still a barrel of laughs   
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (as actor)    

 

Watch one of the priceless scenes from the film here

Cost: 18 mil. $
Box office: 13.5 mil. $
= Huge flop (0.75 times the cost)
[Anything Else premiered 27 August (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 108 minutes. Allen's sister Letty Aronson (Celebrity (1998)) produced the picture. Shooting took place in New York from May - August 2002. The film opened #12 to a 1.6 mil. $ first weekend in 1,033 theaters in North America, where it only dropped from there and only played 4 weeks, grossing a paltry 3.2 mil. $ (17.8 % of the total gross). The film's 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 3.1 mil. $ (17.2 %) and France with 3 mil. $ (16.7 %). Though many critics lambasted the film, Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs (1992)) has named it as one of his 20 favorites since his filmmaking career began in 1992. Allen returned with Melinda and Melinda (2004). Biggs returned in Jersey Girl (2004), and Ricci in I Love Your Work (2003). Anything Else is rotten at 40 % with a 5.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Anything Else?