BLU-RAY
REVIEW: AMERICAN REUNION
7/08/12
OVERVIEW: The entire cast of American Pie returns to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion in the outrageous comedy American Reunion, available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD, and On Demand, with a never-before-seen unrated version, on July 10, 2012 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. In one long-overdue weekend, old friends will reconnect, old flames re-ignite and everyone will rediscover just how much fun you can pack into one hilarious weekend.
It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim (Jason Biggs, Life Happens, “Mad Love”) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan, “How I Met Your Mother”) got married while Stifler (Seann William Scott, Role Models) still refuses to grow up. Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas, Please Give) and Vicky (Tara Reid, “Scrubs”) said goodbye while Oz (Chris Klein, American Dreamz) and Heather (Mena Suvari, “American Horror Story”) grew apart. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas, “How to Make It in America”) still longs for Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge, Legally Blonde) and Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy, Best in Show) is learning to date. The hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend return as American Reunion brings this beloved franchise back with “flat out hilarious, raunchy fun” (Pete Hammond, Box Office Magazine).
The American Reunion Blu-ray™ Combo Pack delivers the film in perfect hi-def picture and perfect hi-def sound. The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack also includes UltraViolet™, a DVD and a Digital Copy of the film – so consumers can truly enjoy the movie anytime, anywhere, on the device of their choice! UltraViolet™ is the revolutionary new way for consumers to collect movies and TV shows and put them in the cloud. From there, they can download and stream instantly to computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition, consumers can redeem a Digital Copy of the film from a variety of retail partners, who offer many viewing options including iTunes®, iPad®, iPhone®, iPod™ touch, Android, connected televisions, Blu-ray player apps and more!
SYNOPSIS:
In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters
we met a little more than a decade ago return to East Great
Falls for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue
weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and
that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship.
It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a
quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed,
Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz
and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s
mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to
reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who
launched a comedy legend.
REVIEW: Having ignored all other follow-up releases of this franchise, since the original, I enthusiastically settled on watching American Reunion, primarily because of a very promising trailer and the reunification of most of the original cast members. On the outset, the movie wreaks of just being an extended version of the trailer. Moreover, the disappointment grows deeper. Writers Adam
Herz, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg and Directors Jon
Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg could have taken this great opportunity, of having assembled most of the original cast members, to make this follow up relevant and competitive with today’s comedic trends. The heavy dependence on comedy that worked for the original movie thirteen years ago, emanated throughout with lots of emphasis put on revisiting almost everything that made the original flick a game changer. This includes having the “Stifmeister” (Sean William Scott) character dominate with his obnoxious one-liners and having scenes from part one replayed. Basically, this approached did not work for me and the film could have had a little more “2012” appeal, by incorporating new and innovative ways to show the more mature hilarious versions of the characters.
Despite having the appeal of a Where Are They Now? VH1 special, the movie did produce quite a few LOL (laugh out loud) moments that had the audience seemingly gasping for breath, at times. Admittedly, I occasionally found myself really enjoying a few good laughs throughout the movie and found that all was not lost in characters such as the Eugene Levy’s character as “Jim’s dad.” As would be expected of the veteran comedy actor, Levy has been consistent with his flavor of comedy in the series and truly contributed to the laugh out loud scenes in the movie.
Overall, I think that Producers and Directors of this installment of the series missed a golden opportunity to capitalize on the round up of the original cast and could have shown a bit more creativity in the plot, dialog and relevance. Furthermore, my being invited to review this movie in a theater that seemingly had no surround sound and only one speaker turned on for the audio, really took away from the overall experience of the screening. In my opinion, movies have certain aspects of appeal and one of them is a sound track. It was quite unfortunate that my fellow screeners and I had to endure the entire one hundred and fifteen minute movie on what seemed like a single speaker playing right beneath the movie theater screen.
Review
By Movie-Man Stan
BLU-RAY:
The film is
presented in 1080P widescreen in a 1.85:1 aspect ration
preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just
flawless. Not only the picture looks great in
this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 DTS-HD Master
Audio (48kHz/24bit) in English that provides a
good complement to the picture. It also includes English,
French and Spanish subtitles.
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen 1080P
AUDIO:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/DVS Dolby Digital 2.02, French DTS-HD Master
Audio 5.1 (Canadian) and Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles - English SDH, French, Spanish
SPECIAL FEATURES:
7 DELETED SCENES
GAG REEL
THE “REUNION” REUNION: RE-LAUNCHING THE SERIES: Go behind the scenes with Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, and the rest of the original cast. They’ll reveal some of the unique challenges in reuniting the group, and reflect on moments from making the film.
JIM’S DAD: From tweezing his infamous eyebrows to online dating, Jim’s dad slowly enters the singles’ scene with some help from Jim and Michelle.
OUCH! MY BALLS!: While on set, Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, and many other members of the male cast started the unique hobby of “crotch-blasting”. See the spark of this unusual craze and its ensuing, widespread popularity.
FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH CO-DIRECTORS/CO-WRITERS JON HURWITZ & HAYDEN SCHLOSSBERG (available on both rated and unrated versions)
13 EXTENDED SCENES
ALTERNATE TAKES
THE “OUT OF CONTROL” TRACK:
Throughout the film, Jason Biggs, Sean William Scott, Alyson Hannigan and other cast members pop up on-screen to laugh at, comment and even cut on their fellow cast members.
THE BEST OF BIGGS - HANGIN’ WITH JASON B.: A funny snapshot of life on the American Reunion set as cast and crew reflect on the hilarious experiences they have had working with Jason Biggs.
LAKE BAKE: Facing scorching heat, page-after-page of script, and yes, even jet-ski stunts, a “day” at the beach stood as one of the production’s biggest challenges.
DANCING WITH THE OZ: Go behind the scenes of Oz’s memorable appearance on Celebrity Dance-off! Chris Klein discusses his killer moves, slick sweat suit, and what it took to realize this funny moment from the movie.
AMERICAN GONAD-IATORS: THE FIGHT SCENE: One of the many ways American Reunion ups the ante is with a goofball throw down as the old dogs (Jim, Oz, and company) and the young bucks (AJ and his crew) go toe-to-toe in Great Falls. The filmmakers take us through what started as a simple line in the script – A fight ensues and the police show up – on to storyboards, crazy choreography, and a half-naked Jason Biggs.
AMERICAN REUNION YEARBOOK: An interactive yearbook of all of your favorite characters from the American Pie franchise. Select a character and get an overview of that character from the films with “Where Are They Now,” cast discussions about the characters, their most embarrassing moment and their favorite activities. A virtual yearbook of who’s who, what’s what and, most importantly, who did what to who!
UltraViolet™: The revolutionary new way for consumers to collect movies and TV shows, store them in the cloud, and download and stream instantly to computers, tablets and smartphones. Currently available in the United States only.
Digital Copy: Viewers can redeem a digital version of the full-length movie from a choice of retail partners to watch on an array of electronic and portable devices.
U-Control:
o Picture-in-Picture – featuring pre-visualization and storyboard comparisons of some the film’s most exciting scenes.
pocket BLU™ App: The popular free pocket BLU™ app for smartphones is now even better with newly updated versions for iPad®, Android™ tablets, PC and Macintosh computers, with features made especially to take advantage of the devices’ larger screens and high resolution displays.
o Advanced Remote Control: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.
o Video Timeline: Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the film.
o Mobile-To-Go: Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
o Browse Titles: Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU™-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray™. They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.
o Keyboard: Entering data is fast and easy with your device’s intuitive keyboard.
BD-LIVE™ - Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to access the latest trailers, exclusive content and more!
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