Our generation has had the, well; let’s call it, luxury, of growing up with “The American Pie” movies.  Whether you like them or not, it is kind of cool that we got to see “The Animal House” of our generation grow throughout its four incarnations.

What is most interesting is how this movie has grown.  For me, and most of the readers of this newspaper, “The American Pie” movies have been meant to parallel the demographic one step ahead of us.

Stifler, Jim and the crew were in high school when we were in junior high and they were getting married just before we shipped off to college. So we, as viewers, have had the unique ability to look at our future selves and that next step in our lives, something we take so seriously, and laugh.

Sure, there is not much wisdom to be gained from a sex-driven comedy, but its nice to see, even if it is fictional, that things will change, but there are always people who you can depend on, whether those are your high school buddies or over the top jokes from Sean William Scott.

Now, is this movie the next instant comedy classic? No. But whether it is a good movie or not will more likely depend on how much you enjoyed the previous films in the series.  I liked “American Pies 1” and 2, and I can assure fans of the series that “American Reunion” is a more than a worthy addition.

The fourth installment brings back all of the characters from the first three movies, and it’s fun seeing how some of the more minor characters make their return.

Fans will appreciate other subtle references and homages from earlier entries as well in the form of Youtube videos, character histories and back stories hinted at through dialogue, and entirely new characters that seamlessly fit into the “American Pie” narrative.

So for what it’s worth, “American Reunion” is a riotously fun comedy.  As the fourth movie in a series that started a relatively short time ago, this movie does what it does very well.

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Ian Storey/For the Review
Ian Storey can be  reached at [email protected].