Its been a few years since we last saw the gang from American Pie.  Now, a little more than three years later and we finally get a chance to see the gang back together again.  So, after the all this time, was it all worth the wait?  No!  American Wedding is without a doubt, the worst of the Pie series and quite possibly one the worst films in its genre.  It is poorly directed, written, and edited.  It also features a horde of juvenile humor, more reminiscent of an old 80s teen sex comedy than a Pie movie.

            What made the original Pie and its first sequel so good was that they were basically about maturitythe next step as Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) often referred to it.  In American Pie , we have the boys realizing that sex isnt what love is about.  In American Pie 2, we have them learning that they simply arent the same people they once were.  This time around, they have resorted to preteen poop jokes and silly antics fit more for movies like Van Wilder, than American Pie.  In fact, when Kevin toasts to the next step they shoot him down and tell him to shut up.  From this point on, all possible growth for these guys is left for dead.

            What went wrong?  What happened to this once beloved group of films?  Hiring amateur director Jessie Dylan might be a good place to start.  This guy is an absolute mess.  His half-assed direction took last years How High to the bottom of the barrel and Im afraid he has done it again with Wedding.  Second, is the absence of half the original cast (Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Mena Suvari, Shannon Elizabeth, and that geeky kid who played the Sherminator).  Sure its nice to see Waiting for Guffman-alums Fred Willard, Eugene Levy and Jennifer Colliadge together on-screen for something that isnt a mockumentary, but the director and writer, it seems, dont know what to do with their talent and they are sorely wasted.  As for the teen regulars, this is Stifler (Sean William Scott) and Finchs (Eddie Kay Thomas) show all the way.  Jim (Jason Biggs) has a few pitfalls (one involving pubic hair), but he mainly plays the straight man to these puerile wedding assassins.  Other returning teens are Kevin and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan).  Both are sorely underused and only have about 30 lines between them.  Michelle is the BRIDE for goodness sakes and Kevin isnt even at the wedding reception!  They were either forgotten or lost in a sea of poor editing.   The editing actually looks like something an uneducated film student would have done. The films editor really needs to get out of the industryseriously. 

            The remaining cast, those who actually speak, try very hard to keep this mess afloat.  Finch and Stifler attempt to win over the heart of Michelles younger sister Candence (Sitcom plot alert!).  They each try to swoon her by acting like the other one (get it?).  Of course, they succumb to a slew of pratfalls and mislead jokes (Stifler eats dog poop and has sex with Granny).  The writer (Adam Hertz) must have thought these ideas were golden.  Sadly, each joke is one rotten egg after another.  Stifler is much meaner and Finch is just boring.  Each character feels as though he or she says their lines at gunpointwhile drunk  The gang even resorts to attending a gay bar (Police Academy plot alert!) and befriending a gay dancer (Will and Grace plot alert!). 

            American Wedding is a tragic end to a once fun, mature and humorous series.  I can only hope that these actors go off and do great things without one another because I wont be back for another helping of American Pie after this unsmiling waste of time.

            Rating as a film:  F.  This is one of the most drudged up, juvenile sitcom plots Ive ever seen.  What a waste of time and money for us and for them.  Half the cast is gone and what remains is a sad group of talented actors trying to hold it together and failing.