Neil Young's Film Lounge

Neil Young’s Film Lounge – American Pie – The Wedding

AMERICAN PIE THE WEDDING

3/10

aka American Wedding : USA 2003 : Jesse DYLAN : 97 mins

According to Universal, this is supposedly the last slice of American Pie. Theres no reason for the franchise to stop here, however just so long as director Dylan and screenwriter Adam Herz are kept well away. While Herz has written all three Pie movies, and created the characters in the first place, his comic skills seem to have suddenly dried up though its only fair to share the blame with director Dylan who, on this evidence, has about as much of a knack for zany physical farce as his crotchety megastar father Bob.

In contrast to the irresisitible momentum of American Pie 2, American Wedding (as its known in the US) is all fits and starts a misfiring series of would-be set-pieces bolted hastily and crudely together around the basic plot of nice-guy Jim (Jason Biggs) nervously preparing his nuptials with ditsy girlfriend Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Complications are provided by both sets of parents (Pie veterans Eugene Levy and Deborah Rush are joined by Fred Willard and Molly Cheek), Jims friends Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) and Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), sociopathic eternal frat-king Stifler (Seann William Scott), and Michelles knockout sister Cadence (January Jones).

As with previous instalments, most of the best material concerns the hyperkinetic, spectacularly foul-mouthed Stifler, who has considerably more to do here than in the first two Pie pictures what a relief to see Scott back on something like top form after his below-par appearances in Old School and Bulletproof Monk. Though he milks Stiflers outrageous antics in trademark full-tilt style, Scott is even more effective when Stifler deviously adopts a nicey-nicey persona (Steven) to impress both sets of parents, with a view to (a) being best man and (b) getting off with Cadence.

This culminates in the films gross-out highlight in which Stifler, in whats presumably a nod to early John Waters, has to eat a dog turd for reasons much too complex and silly to explain here. In terms of farce choreography, however, the best set-piece is Jims bachelor party, in which Michelles parents come into uncomfortable close proximity with the costumed strippers hired for the evening. But this scene, while undeniably funny, feels very much like a missed opportunity surely some spectacular frathouse-style jamboree (a la Old School) would have been more appropriate, rather than this conspicuously under-populated soiree.

Then again, the whole film is somewhat under-populated many of the Pie regulars, including the characters played by Tara Reid, Mena Suvari and Chris Klein, are mysteriously absent. And there isn’t even a line in the script explaining where these once-crucial people have gone – they’ve simply been airbrushed out of Pie history, all too typical of Herzs any-old-rope-will-do laziness. That said, even the wittiest script would probably fall woefully limp in the hands of director Dylan.

Its hard to see what made Variety magazine froth about his wonderful comic timing, as well as farce sequences worthy of Francis Veber though on reflection this isn’t such high praise, given the leaden qualities of Vebers recent work like The Closet. Dylan doesn’t even reach that so-so level, however: scenes either end too early or too late, and when in doubt the director simply reaches for the next cut from his bland selection of white-bread rock/pop chart hits a technique employed so often that American Pie: The Wedding ends up feeling like a bad soundtrack in search of a movie.

18th August, 2003
(seen 11th August : Odeon, Newcastle-upon-Tyne)

by Neil Young

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