Synopsis: As Jim and Michelle plan the wedding of their dreams, Stifler, Finch and Myers plot to give them a "proper" sendoff in this third installment of the American Pie trilogy.

Now for the Zone's Eye View:

By Michelle Snow

Director: Jesse Dylan

Cast: Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas, January Jones, Eugene Levy, Molly Cheek, Deborah Rush, Fred Willard, Angela Paton and Eric Allan Kramer

As the long-running couple of the American Pie movies, it's only fitting that the trilogy bows out on a plot centering on the marriage of Jim [Biggs] and Michelle [Hannigan]. She wants a big old-fashioned wedding and he wants more than anything to give it to her. Of course, in typical Jim fashion, nothing ever goes exactly as planned.

A lot of his problems in planning the wedding involve the immature Stifler [Scott]. Forever thinking with the little head, the Stiff-meister is more excited about the idea of a bachelor party than the actual wedding. He also develops a major interest in Michelle's younger sister Cadence [Jones], as does the more intelluctally-inclined Finch. 

Meanwhile, Jim and his family meet Michelle's parents [Willard and Rush], who turn out to be very uptight and not all together sure that Jim is the right man for their daughter. To make matters worse, the harder he tries to impress them, the more things go wrong. 

American Pie and its sequels are like the Porky's for Generation 2000. It's not a refined humor--as you can imagine, a lot of the jokes involve body fluids or sexual situations. From genital shaving to oral sex in public to assless pants, pretty much no subject is taboo. But somehow in the hands of this cast and crew, the humor generally works. 

I laughed the hardest during the scenes involving Stifler. Seann William Scott does a fine job of portraying the party-hard dude with a heart of gold. His dance-off in the Chicago gay bar was a highlight of, not just this movie, but the entire series. I'll also give props to Jason Biggs for being willing to let it all hang out. See the movie and you'll understand. In fact, the only performance I was disappointed with was Alyson Hannigan who portrayed Michelle as completely ditzy. 

And as the first movie left you with the indelible image of apple pie in your mind, American Wedding manages to top that with a scene that will leave a really bad taste in your mouth. Poor Stifler. In fact, it was so gross that I could barely watch it, but I was laughing at the same time.

A lot has been made about the fact that about half of the cast of the first two movies didn't appear in this one. I didn't really miss them. In fact, there was so much going on in American Wedding that having to add any more sub-plots would have just watered down the entire movie.

This movie cheerfully offends all for the sake of a good laugh, yet it has a sweetness that makes you forgive any transgressions. A toast to the happy couple…American Wedding is fitting finale to the Pie movies.
8 out of 10