THE MOVIE

It’s a bit hard to believe it’s been almost 5 years since a small little gross out comedy about four teenage boys trying to get laid, shocked everyone (including its makers) to take in over $100 million at the box office and become a household name.

It also made household names out of its actors, many of which owe their current career in the business to the success of American Pie.

And because of that huge and totally unpredicted success, it came as little surprise to discover that the gang would return, and that American Pie 2 would find its way on to our cinema screens just two years later.

While not quite as well received as the original, the film was still a big success and so I think most of us could see that American Pie 3 wouldn’t be too far away either.

A number of original cast members decided to pass on a third piece of pie (including Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid & Mena Suvari), but the core group (Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas & Thomas Ian Nicholas) remained and decided to give it one last hurrah.

And here they are, in American Pie: The Wedding.

When we last left our little gang, Jim (Jason Biggs) & Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) had just become a couple after Jim finally realised that she was the one for him. In this film, we pick it up from the point just after their college graduation and Jim has decided he's going to ask Michelle to marry him. He pops the question during a romantic dinner (in which Jim manages to display his erect member to the entire restaurant), and she says yes.

This sets into motion a rollercoaster of events (including a gay bar dance-off & a memorable bachelor party) that sees Jim and his friends trying to enjoy the final days of bachelorhood, and create the grand wedding that Michelle so desperately wants.

I’ll admit I’m a fan of the American Pie franchise, and I found this to be a very entertaining addition to it. The loss of many of the original characters just served to give the film a better focus and provide a greater depth to the remaining characters.

Speaking of characters, there’s no doubt that for the first two films the focal point was on Jim and his rather ingenious ways of embarrassing himself on a consistent basis. And while Jim and Michelle’s wedding is the main story here, the character focus moves to the totally obnoxious but absolutely hysterical Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott).

And if you thought Jim did some embarrassing things in the first two, wait until you see what Stifler does here. Let’s just say “dog crap” and “Jim’s Grandma” and leave it at that shall we. He may be childish and obscene, but he’s also DAMN funny. Great job by Seann in this one.

There are also a few new characters introduced here including Michelle's parents (Fred Willard & Deborah Rush), her sister Cadence (January Jones), and the organiser of the bachelor party entertainment, Bear (Eric Allan Kramer). A great job done by all of them.

There was really only one character that suffered in this film and that was Kevin. Thomas Ian Nicholas had a pretty big part in the first film, a small but reasonable role in the second, but in this he hardly gets any screen time at all. As I was listening to the cast audio commentary, I felt particularly sorry for Thomas who must have been watching in horror seeing his performance turn into nothing more than a cameo.

I should mention that this DVD version we have here is the same as the “Unrated” version released in the US. In fact when you play the film, you are given the option of “Playing Unrated With Filmmaker Intro”, where writer/producer Adam Herz gives you a brief 1-minute introduction to the changes in the new version.

Usually I find these “Unrated” versions simple marketing tools that add next to nothing to the film. We typically just get a bit of extra profanity or nudity. And while that is still true of American Pie: The Wedding, there are also some very funny moments added in this cut.

A new scene during the bachelor party when Stifler is talking to Bear and calling him “Buffalo Bill” almost had me in tears I was laughing so hard.

The Return of the King it ain’t, but American Pie: The Wedding is a perfectly fitting conclusion to a perfectly fine comedic trilogy. Let’s just hope they end it here and we don’t see “American Baby” or “American Reunion”!

THE TRANSFER

Video:

American Pie: The Wedding has been presented at its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. This is the first of the Pie movies to use the extra wide aspect ratio and it really does give this film a completely different look to the previous two.

As for the transfer itself, well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag and a slight disappointment actually.

On the positive side of things we have great clarity here. The image contains no defects, scratches or nicks at all. I mean the print used is just pristine. Compression problems are also virtually non-existent. Minor instances of aliasing and edge enhancement but that’s all. Overall, it really is an exceptionally clean looking transfer.

As for colours, well they are quite strong but at times they just don’t look quite right, and I think there’s a reason for that. The main problem seems to be that the image tends to be remarkably dark, like someone has stuffed around with the contrast settings. Shadow detail is simply abominable at times. Bizarre.

It’s not exactly the sharpest looking image you’re likely to see either. At times it can appear surprisingly soft.

This is a RSDL disc with the layer change at 72.26. It’s a nice quick change and reasonably placed, but still noticeable.

Audio:

American Pie: The Wedding has been provided with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track at 384kbps.

I didn’t expect a memorable immersive audio experience from a comedy like this, and I certainly didn’t get one.

What we have is a very front heavy 5.1 mix with the surrounds and subwoofer used sparingly to accentuate the music and effects.

The Pie films are known for their heavy use of contemporary music and American Pie: The Wedding is no different. Artists like Gob, Sum 41, Good Charlotte and New Found Glory all help to provide that bland derivation of pop-punk that the kids seem to like these days. The thing is, these tracks really are perfect for the film and help provide a great deal of energy throughout.

I’m a big fan of the talented Christophe Beck (mainly because of the fabulous work he’s done on Buffy over the years) and while his score here is quite minimal and understated, it’s still excellent work and very well suited to what’s on screen.

In reality it may sound more like a 2.0 mix than a 5.1 but there’s actually little to complain about. The music sounded great, effects were nice, and the dialogue was clean and clear. Not much more you can ask of a movie like this really.

THE EXTRAS

A typically clever American Pie style animated menu greets you when you pop this disc in your player.

The American Pie DVDs are well known for their generous selection of extras and I’m pleased to say American Pie: The Wedding is no exception.

DELETED SCENES

Running for a little over 22 minutes in total, this is a compilation of 12 deleted and extended scenes. Nine are introduced by writer/producer Adam Herz while the final three are done by Seann William Scott.

A nice collection overall but it’s pretty easy to see why they ended up here and not in the final cut. It’s a shame “Grandma Dances With Stifler” didn’t make it though. Damn funny.

The introductions are presented in 4:3 while the scenes themselves are at 2.35:1 and are NOT 16x9 enhanced. Dolby Digital 2.0 audio is provided.

OUTTAKES

Your typical collection of flubs and stuff-ups from on the set here. Some pretty funny stuff too.

Running for a little over 6 minutes most of this extra is presented at 2.35:1 (NOT 16x9 enhanced) with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

STIFLER SPEAK

What we have here is an interesting look at the Stifler character and how Seann has managed to make it his own over the course of three films. Some nice on the set stuff is here and even a small snippet of his original casting tape. A short, but solid extra.

Running for a little over 7 minutes, this is presented 4:3 (NOT 16x9 enhanced) with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

ENTER THE DOMINATRIX: INSIDE THE BACHELOR PARTY

A reasonably comprehensive behind the scenes look at the showpiece scene in the film. We get to see a brainstorming session, on the set interviews, and even a few different (and quite funny) outtakes.

Running for almost 10 minutes, this is presented 4:3 (NOT 16x9 enhanced) with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

FEATURE COMMENTARIES

Feature Commentary with Director Jesse Dylan and Seann William Scott

This is quite a good commentary as it becomes obvious from early on that both men had an absolute blast making this film. Both provide a fair bit of interesting information throughout and we get to hear some great stuff from Seann about how he got the role and became the character we've come to know so well.

Feature Commentary with Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Thomas Ian Nicholas

I actually look forward to the cast commentary on comedies. Normally, they’re just a really fun listen. The cast tracks on the first two Pie DVDs are perfect examples of that.

This, however, is pretty horrible and a massive disappointment. The recording for this took place before American Pie: The Wedding was released theatrically and so this was the first chance the participants had to actually watch the finished product. And they really have bugger all to say here.

It’s a sad indictment that the most interesting tidbit I got out of it was that Aly had to leave the set early one day so she could surprise her (then) fiancé Alexis on his birthday.

I’ve heard more boring commentaries, but this is probably the most useless. Don’t listen to this unless you're exceptionally bored or exceptionally plastered.

GROOMING THE GROOM

Seriously, in what other movie would you find a 6 ½ minute piece on the shaving of a main character's nether regions?? What other movie would have pubic hair camera tests??

Only in American Pie…

This is presented 4:3 (NOT 16x9 enhanced) with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

CHEESY WEDDING VIDEO

Entitled “Our Wedding Day” this is a mock home video of Jim & Michelle’s wedding including the ceremony and the reception. Wouldn’t exactly call it a must-see extra but it’s still a nice little inclusion.

Running for almost 3 minutes it is presented at 4:3 (NOT 16x9 enhanced) with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

NIKKI’S HOLLYWOOD JOURNAL

Here we get to see the star of the bachelor party scene Nikki Zeiring and her day as she gets ready to walk the red carpet at an American Wedding premiere. She exercises, visits the dermatologist, goes shopping, puts on make up…ZZZZZZZZ. Sorry, fell asleep there.

There are a couple of little interesting tidbits in this, but not many. It runs for almost 10 minutes and is presented at 4:3 (NOT 16x9 enhanced) with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

SUMMARY

It really is pretty simple. If you enjoyed the first two films in the American Pie saga, you’ll enjoy this third instalment too. And if you like Seann William Scott’s Stifler, you’re in for a real treat as well.

From a technical standpoint, we get a reasonable (if slightly disappointing) video and audio presentation along with a strong extras package, making this a DVD that American Pie fans should have no qualms about adding to their collection.