If you read my blog regularly, or even infrequently, you probably know I have a huge soft spot for teen flicks. Raunchy teen comedies are my favorite subgenre to watch, even though now that I’m in my 30s, I’m embarrassed to find that I STILL think that they're funny. Once upon a time, I get it. I can remember being one of these guys, although I’m forever hoping that I wasn’t nearly as bad. Now, I don’t know. I feel like I shouldn’t be nostalgic about puberty, but every once in awhile I miss the total chaos of being a teenager. I miss the uncertainty, the self doubt, the raging emotions and the confusion. I don’t miss the cracking voice or the acne, but I got off relatively light on both counts, so I probably can’t complain too much.
If you’re a fan of the American Pie franchise, this isn’t a horrible addition. In fact, I’d arguably say it’s the best of the four films to date that have been issued as straight-to-DVD, although Band Camp might just have more real laughs to it. This also feels more like the original trilogy than the others and has a band of characters that aren’t totally pathetic, which is a nice change. I like that the setting has returned fully to the original high school, which probably helps more than anything else to make this feel more like the original trilogy. If I have a real complaint, it’s that this Stiffler sucks. The Stifflers… and I think there have been six now, have all been the drivers of what’s funny in this franchise, although Eric Stiffler was funny because he was kind of lame. This Stiffler got like one potentially funny scene, and it was ruined by a bad CGI mouse.
What this movie really missed was bringing back the original trio for cameos while they attempt to reconstruct The Bible (not THAT Bible, the other one from the school library). It would have been cool to see those guys again, since none of them seems to have survived like 2003. If you decide to watch this, just let it all hang loose. No expectations, no demands. Because that, you’ll probably get. If I actually wanted something out of this movie, I’d probably hate it… but for a quick way to kill a couple of hours, there are worse ways to go.
