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AMERICAN WEDDING
I’m sure this script has gone through various drafts in the last few months. I read one from October by Adam Herz, and my first reaction to it was, “That was sweet.” And I don’t mean that in the slang version of “sweet,” either. I mean there’s a real heart to this, and if this turns out to be the last of the AMERICAN PIE films, then there’s a good chance they’ll close things out on a high note.
This time out, the film opens with a twist on the way the first two films started. Typically, Jim (Jason Biggs) finds himself cornered in an embarrassing sexual situation by his well-intentioned Dad (Eugene Levy), but this time out, it’s the other way around. Jim is trying to propose marriage to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and ends up stumbling across a one-way ticket to lifetime therapy, his parents in the middle of incredibly vigorous sex. It’s a funny scene, and it’s a chance for Biggs and Levy to reverse roles in a way that should allow both of them to shine.
The storyline is incredibly simple, and at the risk of being crude, I’d sum it up like this: the pie fucker marries the flute fucker, and Stifler throws the bachelor party. Several characters have either been written out or marginalized (Chris Klein and Mena Suvari are off in Europe for most of the film, Tara Reid and Natasha Lyonne are simply gone, and Thomas Ian Nichols is underwritten to the point that he might as well not be in the film), but that’s a good thing. It allows the script to focus on the dynamics that work best. Finch and Stifler step up their antagonism this time as they find themselves competing for the affections of Cadence, Michelle’s sister. I don’t know who they’ve cast as Cadence, but she needs to be a mega-honey if she’s going to be convincing as Michelle’s sister. Hannigan has that rare mix of Disney heroine-cuteness and grown-up sex appeal that has only gotten more pronounced over the last few years, and making her one of the film’s main characters is the single smartest thing about the film. It’s also great that there’s no wager or agreement or pact to fuel the film. The one time Kevin brings it up, the others shout him down and tell him to shut up. Instead, the threat here is that Jim simply isn’t mature enough and capable enough to give Michelle the wedding she wants, the one he feels like she deserves.
That’s a very real fear, too. I came very close to getting married once (and there are days I thank God himself for reaching down and putting a cataclysmic stop to things), and just the gearing up to it was exhausting. Left to my own devices, I’d plan a full tank of gas, nice weather in Vegas, and a phone call afterwards to the folks to let them know. That doesn’t fly with most girls, though, and it’s because of the incredible importance placed on a wedding their whole lives. As Michelle puts it, “It’s this one day... one day where every eye is on me for a change, and I’m all pure and beautiful. Don’t get me wrong. I kinda like being the quirky nympho chick. But... well... I’ve never walked into a room and had everyone go ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ and ‘isn’t she elegant!?’” Jim promises to give her just exactly that, and then spends the rest of the film trying to overcome his omnipresent bad luck and make it happen.
Have no fear, though... the film’s raunch factor is enormous, even with all this sweetness going on. Stifler’s version of a bachelor party is pretty unbelievable, and wait until you see why Finch can now call Stifler a “grandmotherfucker” with impunity. Pubes on a wedding cake, the search for Leslie Summers, Stifler’s dancing skills, and Michelle’s mother’s love for chocolate truffles are just a few of the more outrageous elements along the way, and I hear they’ve done a lot of punch-up work since this draft.
Long story short, this is the model of how to learn from what worked in the first film and didn’t work in the second film, and Jesse Dylan (HOW HIGH) just needs to create the right atmosphere for these actors to really let loose. Just as marriage is a major step into a new life for young people, this film could serve as a great conclusion for these characters and set this cast free to pursue other interests in the years to come.
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"Oh, good, my dog found the chainsaw."
And I'm with Dri, here. I'm so proud of Aly, stealing the show as a minor character last time around and getting big billing this time around. Woo!
Such a great way to describe the goodness that is Aly. 
I loved the first two movies, they're hilarious (especially after a few beers 
So funny!