Parents' Guide to American Wedding

Movie R 2003 95 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

By Nell Minow , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 17+

Another slice of American Pie. Older teens only.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 17+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 15+

Based on 4 parent reviews

age 13+

Based on 5 kid reviews

What's the Story?

In this third installment of the American Pie series, Jim (Jason Biggs) proposes to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Jim relies on Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), and Stifler (Seann William Scott) to help make the wedding go as smoothly as possible. All of the preparations for the wedding, from finding the perfect dress to meeting the new in-laws, provide opportunities for wild adventures and plenty of trouble.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 4 ):
Kids say ( 5 ):

AMERICAN WEDDING is funny but very crude. Its antics include conventional setups for humor like a dance-off in a gay bar and a personality switch as the irrepressible Stifler pretends to be a sweet, polite, preppy philosopher and Finch pretends to be an obnoxious bad boy. But mostly it is just a series of humiliating escapades as the straight-laced in-laws walk in on what appears to be Jim having sex with another man and some dogs, a bachelor party that involves strippers, a guy in bondage, and some very revealing leather pants, a character unexpectedly ends up having sex with an elderly lady, and yet another dessert is destroyed by Jim. As in all classic sex farces, the outrageous situations are really a morality tale -- the good are rewarded and the naughty are punished.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how this third movie iin the fanchise compares with the previous two. Is it still working or getting tired?

  • American Wedding plays with younger-vs.-older-generation and male- vs.-female humor. Which gender or generation in this movie understands the other one best?

Movie Details

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