Since 1999, we've all gotten a chance to know and love the "American Pie" gang, with all their true to life gaffes and foibles and the genuine goodness of their efforts. Now, four years after the 'fab four' from East Great Falls cemented their pact to lose their virginities by prom night, one of their number, Jim (who also did unspeakable things to apple pie in that first film), is getting married to his infamous 'band camp' girlfriend, Michelle (Alyson Hanningan). After two films of watching poor Jim (Jason Biggs) have every bad thing possible happen to him in his quest to gain sexual experience, it's nice to finally have Jim get it right and make the big trip down the aisle (though, the path there is no less hilarious)."American Wedding" brings about half of the original cast back for one last go as Jim and Michelle take the final plunge. It's good to see Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), and, yes, even Stiffler (Sean William Scott), again. Though, the absence of the others ranges from understandable to downright mystifying. Kevin's ex-girlfriend, Vicki (formerly played by Tara Reid), really would have no place in this movie. They broke up at the end of the first film and made peace with their respective directions in life at the end of the second. So, her absence makes sense; as does the lack of the famous foreign exchange student, Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth); although we do miss her. The glaring omissions from this film are supercouple Oz and Heather (played by Chris Klein and Mena Suvari). Their relationship was still going strong at the end of "American Pie 2" and they both were still integral parts of this group of friends. One can only surmise that Klein and Suvari both felt that a third film was beneath them. Hopefully, there's a better explanation than this because that would be disappointing. Issues with the casting aside, "American Wedding" still manages to embrace the heart of this series while losing very little of the humor. At the very beginning of the movie, when Jim is preparing to propose to Michelle in a romantic restaurant, they end up in the kind of compromising situation that could only happen to Jim. Once they are engaged, the challenge becomes planning the perfect wedding, Jim learning how to dance, and Jim meeting and trying to win the approval of Michelle's parents (played by Deborah Rush and the always amusing Fred Willard). Separately, these are very daunting tasks. Together, they are even more taxing. When you add the unwelcome presence of Steve Stiffler forcefully inviting himself to the wedding, it has reached a critical mass where nothing but bad things can happen. Of course, this is Jim's wedding, so things will definitely go wrong. He can't seem to do anything right to impressing Michelle's parents; he is having a difficult time getting Michelle her dream wedding dress; and, now that Stiffler has wormed his way into the wedding by promising to give Jim the dance lessons he needs, Jim has to keep the 'Stiff-meister' reigned in. Suffice to say, as things get more out of control, the movie gets funnier and funnier. There is even a scene where Stiffler gets his comeuppance by having a markedly worse experience with a 'brownie' than Jim had with a pie. I believe that when all three movies are looked at, one will see that Stiffler has ended up having bad experiences with every conceivable bodily excretion. Stiffler was a totally obnoxious bore in the first two films and, if he had continued to be one here, "American Wedding" would have bombed. Fortunately, Sean William Scott does a marvelous job at playing Stiffler as an obnoxious oaf who still has a heart. Stiffler wants to right and be a better person, he just can't seem to get out of his own cocky way. His maturity over the course of the film is one of its shining aspects. He never loses that 'Stiff-meister' quality, but he manages to balance with a little more heart. The roles of Kevin and Finch are essentially window dressing in this film, brought back so that Jim could have his buddies to share in his experience. However, there is a funny subplot where Finch and Stiffler compete for the affections of Michelle's sister, Cadence (January Jones). Of course, no "American Pie" film would be complete without Jim's dad (the winning Eugene Levy) providing his 'unique' brand of advice to help Jim through one of the biggest moments of his life. "American Wedding" brings the 'saga' of the "American Pie" guys full circle and provides a satisfying conclusion to their stories. Seeing Jim and Michelle on their wedding day makes you feel good for them as you know they will have a sparkling (and very wild) future together.