Universal Pictures

The "American Reunion" kids are reunited, and it feels so good.

REVIEW: Can eight movies really have sprung from the lewd meeting of a horny teenager and a fresh-baked dessert? The unthinkable is true in "American Reunion," the first complete gathering of the "American Pie" gang since 2001's "American Pie 2." Assuming producers haven't completely killed the brand with four straight-to-video spinoffs, and that some nostalgia for the original exists, the good-natured pic should please those fans who haven't quite outgrown the pairing of body-fluid gags with dewy-eyed romantic sentiment.

That formula remains firmly in place despite the recruitment of writing-directing team Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, whose "Harold & Kumar" films might've suggested a more psychedelic bent. The title really says it all: Having individually decided that the 13th class reunion is the one to attend, the Class of '99 reconvenes to find that, grown-up compromises notwithstanding, everything their hearts knew in high school turned out to be true.

PHOTOS: "American Reunion" premiere arrivals

The movie devotes much energy to submitting Jason Biggs' Jim to the same kind of over-the-top humiliation he suffered in chapter one. But being pantsless in the kitchen isn't quite as endearing for a thirtysomething dad, and kicking the joke up a notch with frontal nudity -- updating it for the Apatow age -- just emphasizes how old this franchise is.

The script finds a more appropriate hazard in Jim's neighbor Kara (Ali Cobrin), who is now turning 18 and has a crush on her old babysitter. Through Kara, Jim and his pals encounter high school girls who never knew a world without online porn; their lack of inhibition makes the young men feel old, while a more aggressive breed of teen dudes further challenges their manliness.

The wild card in all this remains Seann William Scott's Steve Stifler, the rampaging id whose indignation at his peers' maturity provides most of the film's real laughs. While his co-stars work to incorporate a decade's worth of grown-up backstory into their characters without altering the group dynamic (Chris Klein is most successful here, selling some terribly contrived plot points with dopily lovable sincerity), Scott careens through the film confident that it's impossible to take things too far.

Predictably, Eugene Levy steals scenes as Jim's now-widowed dad, whose re-entry into the dating world puts a nice spin on the original's father-son sex talks. Jim's mother (Molly Cheek) is the only major character who doesn't reappear -- some in a line of cameos that feel increasingly forced as we near the end.

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It's been almost 13 years since "American Pie" introduced movie audiences to a slew of up-and-coming young actors and their wacky, pie-assaulting, flute-abusing characters. Now they're back again with "American Reunion," and TODAY's Matt Lauer sat down with Chris Klein, Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid and Eugene Levy on Wednesday to see if they're up to their old hijinks.

"I love a good hijink," said Levy, deadpanning, then adding that the cast actually were quite sober and real pros, compared to their characters. "On the first 'American Pie' the one thing that I noticed about this group of extremely talented young actors was how professional they were on the set. And of course, 13 years later, they're still the most professional people to work with on the set."

Hannigan (who currently stars on "How I Met Your Mother") admitted she felt she'd changed the most out of the group, thanks to motherhood. "I have a kid and one on the way, and I just feel old," she said.

(Though not too old. She had told Martha Stewart, who appeared on the show to discuss Easter crafts, that she was building a craft room in her home -- and stuck around to decorate eggs later on.)

Reid, Klein and Hannigan are winning personalities, but it was Levy who stole the interview, going along with Lauer's reveal that his widowed character smokes dope with another character's mother. "We used to refer to it as getting high," said Levy. "From what I read back in the '60s."

He also admitted that joining "Reunion" meant a break from his usual routine: "I'm tired of being a sex symbol. I want to do something else. I'm only one man."

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“American Reunion” producer Chris Moore went on a recent Facebook tirade, exploding at fans about the stress he was under to meet box office expectations for the opening of his new film.

Moore originally turned to fans for suggestions about how to get people into the theater to see his flick, which opens April 6, The Huffington Post reports. When reactions weren’t as he’d anticipated, the producer had an angry and uncensored reaction.

"I been reading your comments,” wrote Moore. “... F*** you. We made a funny heartfelt movie and it delivers. Isn't that enough? ... Hell, if each of you went to the movie at seven bones a piece that is $42 mil….We want to break $50."

He goes on to diss some recent box office success stories, including “The Hunger Games,” “Twilight,” and “The Hangover,” saying “I do not want teenage girls owning the box office."

Fans responded pretty much as you would expect.

“No offense, but not a lot of us are interested in [your] opening week projections,” responded Kevin Jon O'Connell. “We want to go and see your movie, all I am saying is get to the point buddy.”

“Dude just calm down, everyone loves ‘American Pie,’” said Colby Powers.

Moore later spoke to Moviefone about his comments.

"I did not in any way mean that to be mean-spirited... I really just wanted to talk to the fans directly, and the way things -- particularly in the film business and the media business -- are marketed, it's very difficult to get a direct conversation with [them]," said Moore. "The truth of the matter is, I am very proud of the movie."

His thoughts were reiterated by executives at Universal, the studio distributing “American Reunion,” who said they’d encouraged Moore to interact via the social network. Nevertheless, the postings have since been deleted from the film’s Facebook page.  

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