Reviewed - 22nd January 2004 by SBG

American Pie: The Wedding (2003) - Universal

Director : Jessy Dylan

Starring : Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas, January Jones.

Picture 2.35:1 Anamorphic, DD 5.1, Dual-Layer, Keep Case

Running Time : 99 mins

The story:

Jim's finally taking her up the isle..

In this third helping in the American Pie series, Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are preparing to get married. Stifler (Seann William Scott) is on hand to throw the ultimate bachelor party for the groom, while Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) dispenses fatherly advice...


The summary:

Not content with the previous two outings of gross-out comedy, the American Pie gang are back for their third (and probably last) instalment. With tag lines such as "This time they're going all the way" and "Jim's finally taking her up the aisle" any thoughts of the film taking a serious look at the decisions involved when two young people commit their lives to each other is clearly out the window. I preferred this to the second film, it just seemed funnier overall. There's the usual simple plot - Jim and Michelle are getting married. That's it. A simple plot means more space for gags, and the space is well used. It all kicks off with a great scene involving Jim and his dad in a restaurant, with Michelle under the table doing, well, something she probably learned at bandcamp. The gags never really rise above this level, but even on it's third outing it seems toilet humour is good entertainment.

If for some reason you haven't seen the first two then some gags might go over your head, but if teen gross-out comedy is your thing then you'll enjoy it.

 

Extras:

* Audio Commentary #1 - With Jesse Dylan & Seann William Scott.

* Audio Commentary #2 - With Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas.

* Deleted And Extended Scenes - Twelve deleted and extended scenes introduced by writer and producer Adam Herz. 23 mins.

* Outtakes - A disappointing montage of outtakes that fails to make you laugh. 6:05 mins.

* Stifler Speak - A short featurette on Stifler and his unique style of pairing innocent and rude words in conversation. 7 mins.

* Enter the Dominatrix: Inside The Bachelor Party - The star of the scene - Nikki Ziering - takes a behind-the-scenes look at the bachelor party. 9:50 mins.

* Grooming the Groom - This featurette focuses on none other than public hair! What makes the best on-screen fake public hair? Well watch and find out. 6:35 mins.

* Cheesy Wedding Video - Snips of the wedding and reception carefully constructed into a cheesy wedding video. 3 mins.

* Nikki's Hollywood Video - Nikki Ziering on the day of the films premier. Strangely watchable.. 9:55 mins.

 


Our Verdict...


After the disappointing second film American Pie is back near it's best. Very little plot, but plenty of gross-out comedy and laughs. 7/10



Not a bad picture overall but it's does seem too soft at times. Presented in 2.35:1 ratio unlike the previous two films. 7/10



No DTS track this time but it wouldn't have added much anyway - the soundtrack is mainly dialogue and music and rarely utilise the rear channels. 7/10



Two audio commentaries and some featurettes. A fair collection of extras but unfortunately all of them are average quality and you're unlikely to watch any of them twice. 5/10




68%

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