American Wedding (2003)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Jesse Dylan

Writers (WGA):

Adam Herz (characters)
Adam Herz (written by)

Release Date:

1 August 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

This time they're going all the way.

Plot:

The third film in the American Pie series deals with the wedding of Jim and Michelle and the gathering of their families and friends, including Jim's old friends from high school and Michelle's little sister.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Bachelor Party | Teenage Boy | Hothouse | Florist

Awards:

3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Jason Biggs	...	Jim Levenstein
Seann William Scott	...	Steve Stifler
Alyson Hannigan	...	Michelle Flaherty
Eddie Kaye Thomas	...	Paul Finch
Thomas Ian Nicholas	...	Kevin Myers
January Jones	...	Cadence Flaherty
Eugene Levy	...	Jim's Dad
Molly Cheek	...	Jim's Mom
Deborah Rush	...	Mary Flaherty
Fred Willard	...	Harold Flaherty
Angela Paton	...	Grandma
Eric Allan Kramer	...	Bear (as Eric Allen Kramer)
Amanda Swisten	...	Fraulein Brandi
Nikki Schieler Ziering	...	Officer Krystal
Lawrence Pressman	...	Head Coach

Also Known As:

American Pie: The Wedding (Australia) (Europe: English title) (Singapore: English title) (South Africa: English title) (UK)
American Pie - Jetzt wird geheiratet (Germany)
American Pie 3 (USA) (working title)
American Pie 3: Piece of Pie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and crude humor.

Runtime:

96 min | USA:103 min (unrated version) | Turkey:74 min (TV version)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Malaysia:18PL (re-rating) | Malaysia:(Banned) (uncut version) | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Denmark:A | Finland:K-11 | Finland:K-15 (extended version) | France:Unrated | Germany:12 (original rating) | Germany:16 (extended version) | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12 | Ireland:15PG (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Israel:16 | Italy:VM14 | Mexico:B15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #39504) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Chapman University - One University Drive, Orange, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The scene when Jim is thanking the guys for everything toward the end of the movie was shot in two different locations. The shot of Finch, Kevin, and Stifler with the building behind them was shot in Los Angeles and the shot of Jim with the county club in the far background was shot in San Fransisco.

Goofs:

Continuity: Finch reaches for Michelle's wedding ring twice.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jim: Well, Michelle, we did it. Happy graduation.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Extremes (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Hell Song

A whole lot of fun for fans of the series

People may dismiss films like American Weddings as cinematic trash, made only to please quasi-testosterone-filled adolescents who go for the sort of crude and vulgar humour which these sorts of films radiate. That may be so, but it doesn't stop me from enjoying such movies. Yes, they're not movies to take seriously. They're certainly not movies to challenge the mind and put one's intellect to the test. The films are, for the most part, lack any real brains. But why do I like them? Because they're entertaining. Because they're funny. And isn't the goal for films such as American Wedding to make one laugh, as well as to entertain? It can hence be said that the film is a successful one. Can I slate a film for achieving its cinematic purposes? Certainly not.

American Wedding, otherwise known as American Pie 3, is billed as 'The Thrilling Climax of the American Pie Saga'. Although the film isn't exactly 'thrilling' in the sense of a taut, frightening movie, and even if the movie isn't exactly the moment we've been building up to since the original film, this tagline proves to hold true in certain aspects. Most notably, the fact that this is the last official American Pie film, discounting the low-grade straight-to-DVD movies which would follow afterwards.

It's a rather sad sight to say farewell to the beloved bunch of characters in the American Pie universe. Ever since they're cinematic debut in 1999, we've followed them through high school and through college, two of the weightiest periods in one's life. We've watched them grow from geeky teens into full-blown young adults, we've watched love and romance bloom throughout this close chain of friends, and we've laughed and cried with them. They're characters who we've become accustomed to, not simply due to the fact they we've been reunited with them in two sequels, but the fact that they're so damn lovable.

Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs) is and always has been the main star of the American Pie series, and in American Wedding his role is even greater than normal. That's because he's getting married, and his wedding is the focal point of the film – hence the title of the film. After finding his true love in the surprising location of geeky band camp girl Michelle Flaherty in Wedding's immediate predecessor, Jim finally draws up the courage to pop the question to her after realising his undying and unrequited love. In the words of The Crystals, 'we're going to the chapel and were going to get married'. However, in true American Pie fashion, everything goes disastrously and hilariously wrong.

There are so many things that go wrong, in fact, that it would be impossible for me even to give the slightest idea of some of the catastrophes that befall our soon-to-be-wed couple. The inferences behind these disasters is something I can reveal though, although it would come as no surprise. In general, it's simply the old 'gang's' mischief-prone nature, but in particular it's due to one Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott), the great buffoon who's heart is dwarfed by his sex organ in terms of personal priority.

Amazingly enough, despite Stifler practically running amuck amidst the festivities, as well as Jim's hapless attempts to impress his new in-laws, Stifler is still one of the characters who we love. He never becomes the villain, albeit being the root cause for much of the conflict in this film. It's through his bombastic actions where much of the humour actually derives; after all, we wouldn't have a film if none of these calamities struck our American Wedding. In other words, Stifler is somewhat of a McGuffin for the film to keep moving forward, and continue to fulfil its title of a comedy.

But that's getting far too technical, especially for such a light-hearted romp as American Wedding. It does however point out the film's script, which is cleverer than usual. It's not resemblant of your usual typical lame-brained teen comedy. There's originality all over the storyline, and this leads to a film which is more unpredictable and funnier in the deliverance of its gags. Although this 'three-quel' lacks the charm possessed by the original film, American Wedding certainly possesses a sharper script, and a better story.

And it's funny too, you can count on that. The jokes are original, the gags are sure-fire and the laughs are joyously aplenty. Indeed, American Wedding fulfils all the expectations and conventions of the teen comedy genre. It's consistently funny, it's downright entertaining and is a sublime film to see if one is yearning for some 'less-serious' movie viewing. Sure, the movie is far from a comedic masterpiece, and it's not a film to be considered in high regard twenty years from now. However if one goes for these sorts of films, then American Wedding will sure deliver the goods.