The Film
This one time, at band camp...
With American Reunion just weeks away from its April 6 theatrical release, Universal is sending out a refresher course and unleashing the first three American Pie movies on Blu-ray.
It's hard to believe that there were three American Pie movies -- probably because American Reunion will bring the total to eight. Yes, teens seeking out a little action can actually make for a successful franchise. Of course, some of the AP films were more successful than others.
In 1999's American Pie, we are introduced to Jim (Jason Biggs) Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Oz (Chris Klein), Paul (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and, of course, Stifler (Seann William Scott). The original American Pie is mostly a movie about young men for young men, but it did manage to squeeze in some sentiment -- in between the pie humping, of course.
It also packed in a ton of female characters, including Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), Heather (Mena Suvari), Vicky (Tara Reid), Jessica (Natasha Lyonne), Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), and, of course, Stifler's mother (Jennifer Coolidge).
Despite the overplayed "everybody's going to get laid" theme, the original American Pie is the best of the bunch. It also made a whopping $235 million, which is why two years later, Universal put the gang back together for American Pie 2. This verse is pretty much the same as the first, with the same guys looking to get with the same girls, but inside a spring break beach house.
In 2003, the franchise went slightly off track with American Wedding. Of course, everyone is still trying to get laid -- except for the two main characters, who are too busy planning (and simultaneously ruining) the impending nuptials.
Without a doubt, you'll still get a few chuckles out of each of the American Pie movies. That said, they aren't quite as classic as Universal may think. The original is definitely the best of the bunch, but after that, it sort of seems like beating a dead horse. Of course, compared to the three direct-to-video sequels that followed, the ones with the original characters (not counting Eugene Levy, who showed up with a smile for every freaking one of them) are as sweet as pie indeed.
If you feel the same way, you can fill in your collection however you see fit. Universal is selling each of the first three films separately on Blu-ray, packaged with both the theatrical and unrated versions for each.
The Picture
American Pie is a major cash cow for Universal, yet the image on each film is subpar at best.
Fans of the original American Pie will appreciate that this Blu-ray is a slight step up from the DVD release, but barely. What improvement there is isn't really enough to warrant a new purchase. The level of detail is bad and colors aren't much better. Blacks crush throughout and the skintones vary from too flush to stone pale.
American Pie 2 is surprisingly the best looking out of the three. There are a few moments that will make you wince, but this is a much better looking film, with better colors overall. That's not to say that they are perfect, but this film sparkles compared to its predecessor. It's also nice that this release has actual details -- ones you can see!
From there, you'd expect American Wedding to sparkle. However, this film's image is about as exciting as a new toaster. The color is bad and the grain wipes out pretty much all opportunity for detail. In fact, a lot of the scenes are downright fuzzy. It's amazing that a film that made so much money and really isn't all that old (it was released in 2003!) could look so horrible.
The Sound
American Pie offers a serviceable DTS-HD Master Audio track, but it's not great. Surround pops up on occasion, but it's a pretty silent film overall. Considering the raunchy nature of the movie, it seems like there should be so much more. Even the dialogue gets muffled in a few spots. Not to worry, though; it's clear for the most part and is pretty enjoyable overall.
American Pie 2 offers up a much better experience. The movie has more music and more surround sound, which the DTS-HD Master Audio handles really well. The most noticable moments revolve around band camp and during the party scenes, with some nice directionality going on throughout.
After a pleasing second outing, you'd think that American Wedding would be even better. It's not horrible, but it's certainly not the best of the bunch. The DTS-HD Master Audio track does have it's share of surround sounds and plenty of bass pumping. That bass can be a little overpowering while the soundtrack is playing, but during the "dance-off," it works. Go figure. If you sat through the other two films and were cool with it, American Wedding should be just fine.
The Extras
What the Blu-rays lack in image and audio, they certainly make up on the extras. All three releases are sold separately, and come packing a standard-def DVD and Digital Copy for each.
It's impressive that each release also manages to squeeze in a ton of commentaries, deleted scenes, outtakes, and a ton of other extras, as well as a 4-minute promo for American Reunion. What's not so impressive is how Universal set up each Blu-ray to jump right into the Unrated version of each film, with no main menu to guide you to each release's many special features. It's manageable, but worth mentioning.
The most impressive piece packaged along with the original film is "American Pie Revealed." At a whopping 213 minutes, this featurette should answer everything and anything you'd ever want to know about the first three films -- and probably a lot of stuff you didn't need to know. Also worth mentioning is the commentary, which is a fun listen, with Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott and Eddie Kay Thomas sitting in with the Weitz brothers and writer Adam Herz.
When it comes to American Pie 2, the biggest standout is that the release comes with four (4!) commentaries. This is an impressive feat, with director J.B. Rogers and writer Adam Herz each getting solo tracks. Then, there is one with actors Jason Biggs and Thomas Ian Nicholas, who are joined by Mena Suvari. This is weird, since Suvari is more of a blip in the film. The weirdest, most wonderful surprise, however, is that actor Eddie Kaye Thomas gets his own commentary track. I guess when you score Stifler's mother, people start to think you can do anything. Thomas does a great job overall, but he's alone and does have a hard time filling the film's 105-minute runtime.
The weakest of the lot is American Wedding, which only offers selections for the short attention span.
Final Thoughts
The American Pie franchise has undoubtedly done a lot for Universal. It's a shame that they couldn't return the favor, though. All three films feature a surprisingly poor image, with audio that doesn't exactly warrant a Blu-ray upgrade. The saving grace is that you can pick your favorite, since all three films are sold separately, with a fairly cheap MSRP on each. That said, if you're going to buy one, the original American Pie still offers the most laughs, with an in-depth featurette that make it the must-have of the lot.
Product Details
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