“I think the success of the American Pie franchise is completely dependent upon the talented actors and the wonderful characters they play. I think they are so inextricably bound together because they have truly made these characters their own,” offers Perry. “These actors have good careers and for them to want to return to characters that they have already played is great. But Adam’s script is really funny. It was key to their return. Without this group of actors, it’d be just American Pie: The New Batch.”
Herz offers an explanation for the driving force behind the fans’ infatuation with the characters—he feels that they care about Jim and the gang, and return to see the characters that they love doing the things they love to see (e.g., Jim being embarrassed by his Dad, Michelle dropping another unexpected zinger, and pretty much everyone being appalled by something that Stifler has done).
“But there is a heart in all of this. It’s kind of the way I wish people could always be—having fun together and relating warmly to each other, but in strange ways,” Herz notes with a smile.
Returning in the roles they have indelibly created are Jason Biggs as Jim, Alyson Hannigan as Michelle, Thomas Ian Nicholas as Kevin, Seann William Scott as Steve Stifler, Eddie Kaye Thomas as Finch, Molly Cheek as Jim’s Mom and Eugene Levy as Jim’s Dad. Michelle’s family now enters the scene (January Jones as her sister, Cadence, with Fred Willard and Deborah Rush as Harold and Mary, her Dad and Mom) to help with the pending nuptials. Additionally, other actors make welcome comic appearances in both returning and newly created roles.
As in the prior outings, at the center of all of the craziness is Jim, whose goodnatured attempts to deal with life’s awkward little situations that accompany maturation continue in American Wedding.
Biggs says, “I initially had some reservations mainly about how they were going to come up with a story, but Adam, who wrote the first two brilliantly, has come back and done another amazing job using the wedding to implement some amazing set pieces.”
As Jim’s fiancée, Michelle, now not so obsessed with band camp, Alyson Hannigan offers, “Once I heard about the wedding, I knew it was going to be really funny. I sort of thought, ‘Well, let’s see, he did it twice, so third time’s probably a charm.’ And of course, it was. This has all of the sweetness and the laughs of the first two.”
Newcomer January Jones (as Michelle’s younger sister, Cadence) recalls, “I was a bit nervous on the first day. I mean I loved the first two movies—everyone I know did. But I kinda felt like I might be sort of a party crasher, and I was so wrong. After the first day, and everyone was so nice and helpful, I thought, ‘Now, why did I ever worry?’”
Thomas Ian Nicholas, back as Kevin, invokes another famous trilogy and comments, “When I heard there would be a third installment, I was curious to know how it was going to work. I mean, usually sequels have the same kind of plot—like Indiana Jones is always going after a sacred artifact. In American Pie, it was all about us going after sex all the time. That’s not what this one’s about—they’re getting married, which I suppose is still about sex, and it’s still just as funny as ever—but the story of this one is new and different. And I’m glad I’m along for the ride.”
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