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American Wedding - Full Screen Extended Party Edition (Unrated)

American Wedding - Full Screen Extended Party Edition (Unrated)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as good as the first two, but still good
Review: If you're actually interested in this movie, then it's probably because you've seen and loved the first two American Pie films and loved them. If you didn't realize that American Wedding is actually American Pie 3, well now you do - and I'd highly recommend seeing those two movies first, since they do much to set up at least some of the humor in this film.

The American Pie series is surprisingly good considering it's T-and-A/gross-out humor genre. So many other movies have come and gone, trying to accomplish what American Pie has, and all of them made it seem as if potty humor and quality filmmaking were mutually exclusive. But in the case of American Pie, the humor is there, and so is the quality. Mostly because we love these characters; we care what happens to Jim and Michelle, to Jim's dad, even to Steve Stiffler. The movies have heart.

The basic premise is that the core gang from the first two films has graduated from college, and now they are looking toward the next major event in their lives - Jim and Michelle are getting married. But other than that, this is mostly the same type of film that the first two were, without being a complete retread of that which has gone before.

American Wedding does well to hold the mantle of the American Pie series; it belongs on the same shelf with its previous two siblings. But that's not to say this film is as good as its predecessors. For one thing, in the past films, the focus was primarily on Jim (Jason Biggs), with all of his friends receiving secondary billing essentially equal to each other. However, because of fan response to the character of Steve Stiffler (Seann William Scott), the Stiffmeister shares the spotlight with Jim. It throws the formula's balance slightly out of whack; the increased Stiffler time makes the whole film feel slightly different from the earlier two outings, and not necessarily as good as a result. Especially since this is supposed to be Jim and Michelle's wedding, and yet band-geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) is hardly on screen at all as a result of Stiffler's increased on-screen time. True, Michelle had her turn in the spotlight in American Pie 2, as she went from minor character in the first film to main theme. Yet it didn't feel right that this is her wedding, and yet we hardly see her involved in it.

The movie belongs to Stiffler, and that isn't a bad thing, mind you. Stiffler has some great moments, such as a dance-off in a gay bar or when he has to retrieve Michelle's wedding ring from a dog that ate it (and then creatively conceal it all for Michelle's parents). And these scenes are gut-busting funny. Yet there's a subplot with Michelle trying to define "love" for her vows which nearly goes ignored throughout the film, and even though Jason Biggs gets as much screen time as Seann William Scott, Jim is pretty much eclipsed by Stiffler's antics. Again, considering that this is Jim and Michelle's wedding, taking the focus off the bride and groom (especially considering they were the stars of the previous film, and the film before that in Jim's case) just doesn't feel right.

Now, a lot of talk has been made about the characters from the first two movies that aren't in this one. Most notably, Shannon Elizabeth as Nadia, Tara Reid as Vicky, and Chris Owen as the Shermanator are all absent. That didn't bother me; these were never significant characters, not to the same degree as Jim, Kevin, Finch or Stiffler, and not having them in the movie was representative of how people grow and move on. Rarely do we maintain every single friendship we had in high school, and that's where the American Pie movies started out. Their storylines were all resolved in the second movie, anyway. This film was about Jim and his closest friends, the ones who it made sense would be at his wedding, as it should have been.

So not as good as the first two. But still a great movie. If you're a fan of the first two American Pie films, then you need to see this one.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: American Beauty
Review: Sooner or later, it would have to happen...Teen sensations Jim and Michelle are finally going to get married in this third episode of the "American Pie" series. Like the first two movies, this one is an average comedy with some funny characters who can make for the lack of a decent and creative plot. The jokes haven`t changed, going from predictable slapstick to utterly childish stuff, and for the most part the laughs are forced as they deal with trivial, unsurprising situations. Even though Jim is the one who`s getting married, Stifler seems to be the central character here, getting all the attention and acting in a particularly annoying way. But I knew what to expect anyway, so this isn`t much of a disappointment, although it`s probably the worst movie of the series. Still, it`s a passable flick to watch with some friends and laugh once or twice. It isn`t supposed to me more than that, anyway.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: hot movie
Review: the makers of this movie have a hot francise and they know all the plot and twists of the teen age mind..

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Are these reviewers on drugs?
Review: I just got done seeting this movie and it was terrible! I loved American Pie #1, #2 was pretty good, #3 was so forced I was amazed. They crammed Stiffler in there so badly it ruined the movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Jim & Michelle Ties the Knot...
Review: American Wedding is the third film in this series of comedies and in this episode Jim (Jason Biggs) is tying to tie the knot with Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Knowing Jim from the previous films, the story is about to go wrong somewhere and it does so right from the beginning when Jim is about to pop the question. In the shadow of continuous blunders, Jim's father (Eugene Levy) is spicing up the slap-stick humor with his intentional good-will. Despite the jokes, the story falls flat on it's face because it consists of one silly joke on top of another which prevents it from taking off. In the end the audience will have had several belly-aching laughs, but is left with an empty cinematic experience.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun and appropriate end for this series
Review: First off, the movie is mistitled. The movie should have been called "American Stifler", cause Sean William Scott OWNS this movie. His interaction with the characters (namely Finch) is hysterical, and every moment he is on screen, you will be laughing. The dance scene is brilliantly executed. Stifler is great. Finch continues to nail his roll, and will keep you grinning. The rest of the cast doesn't really excel, though they all manage to pull off respectable performances. But they were all more interesting in the first 2 films.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Three Is Definitely Not a Charm.
Review: In this third and final installment in the "American Pie" trilogy, Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are planning to get married. Jim, still as disaster-prone as ever, must convince Michelle's parents that he is worthy of their daughter's hand and go to great lengths to give his bride the wedding of her dreams. Stifler (Seann William Scott) plans a raunchy bachelor party, while he and Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) both try to woo Michelle's younger sister Cadence (January Jones), who is in town for the wedding.

"American Wedding" was directed by Jesse Dylan, who is new to the "American Pie" franchise. It was written by Adam Herz, who created the characters and wrote the original "American Pie " movie. So it's a little surprising that " American Wedding" possesses none of the charm that the first film did. "American Pie" succeeded, not only because it was funny, but because the characters were lovable and their plight sympathetic. Jim, Finch, Stifler, Kevin, and Michelle are back for this film, but their characters are barely written. If they convey anything at all, it is pathological self-importance. Stifler was always an egomaniacal jerk who had an inflated opinion of himself, and that was funny. In "American Wedding" he is too obnoxious for words and comes across as actually being mentally ill, which isn't funny. The jokes are forced. The situations are less believable and consequently less entertaining than in "American Pie" or "American Pie 2". There's nothing in "American Wedding" that will strike a chord with the audience as being an authentic, if exaggerated, take on the emotional or social experiences of young people today. It's just bad writing. Eugene Levy, who added so much to the first two "American Pie" films, is wasted on this one. His lines aren't funny. The unrated version of the film contains extra footage from Jim's bachelor party. More boobs, essentially. How can you have a bunch of young men and two barely-clad women in a room and.... nothing funny? Lots of cleavage, little writing. Recommended as a rental only if you've seen the first two and don't want to be left ignorant of the conclusion.

The DVD: On the downside, there are 3 previews which cannot be avoided. Happily, both the R-rated theatrical version of the film and the unrated version are on the same disc. Bonus features include: deleted scenes, blooper reel, a featurette on "Stifler Speak", a featurette on the making of "The Bachelor Party" scenes, a "making of" Jim's grooming scene. And there are two commentaries, one by director Jesse Dylan and actor Seann William Scott, and the other by actors Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kay thomas, and Thomas Ian Nicholas. If you really like Stifler, you might enjoy the "Stifler Speak" featurette. And there are more boobs in "The Bachelor Party" piece. But, truthfully, these are appropriately uninteresting bonus features for an unfortunately uninteresting movie.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Let down
Review: The gross outs were fun in the first film, the second was ok but this one just reeks! Nothing new here & half the cast is missing. It just came off very awkward & very tired.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The movie is great, but the DVD ...
Review: I won't go into the movie. Those who have seen it know it's a funny, yet heart-warming story in the end. The movie itself I would give about 3.5 stars. American Pie 1 and 2 are better, but AW is NOT a bad movie and is still an excellent final chapter to the entire American Pie series. My qualms lie with what Universal Studios has chosen to do with the ads, and it occured with a previous Universal DVD release, Animal House.

The AW DVD has some features that are cool, including deleted scenes and the Unrated version goes into why they created an unrated version. What I also like with the unrated DVD release is that you have both the theatrical release and the unrated version. I think that's an excellent marketing ploy. The extra scenes are okay, but I don't know if they are totally worth it except one part where Finch, Kevin and Stifler are asked if they would like to see the two strippers kiss. Their answer to it is hilarious and it pays a great homage to AP2.

But, the one annoying thing about this DVD (as it is with the Animal House DVD) and is the only reason I gave the DVD a 1-star rating, is the commercials. Now, supposedly, unlike the Animal House DVD, you can skip the commercials. Yet, I was unable to skip them with my particular DVD player except by stopping the movie and then restarting it. This is better than my Animal House DVD, in which my only recourse was to turn off the DVD player.

So, if you don't mind having the commercials thrown into your face and you haven't seen this movie, I would suggest possibly renting it first to see if you want it. I myself have already written my displeasure with Animal House and American Wedding to Universal. I have a feeling this is the route they will continue to take, which is sad as I have other Universal movies on DVD that I enjoy. However, if enough consumers write to them and complain, hopefully they will listen and change their tactics.

Again, the movie is funny and great (3.5 stars), but the DVD release with the adds forced upon the viewer is what kills the rating for this release. In fact, if we had the option, this DVD would have possibly gotten a zero from me. And believe me, I LOVE my movies!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: And now it's over...
Review: While this wasn't the strongest of the three 'Pie' movies, I really enjoyed it. I think that some of the secondary characters suffered a bit from lack of screentime, but the overall story was just as good as the other 2 movies.


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