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A funny thing, apparently, happened on the way to the wedding. Here's the plot description for American Wedding that was circulated to the media publications, two months ago:

"Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are getting married - in a hurry! Jim's grandmother is sick and wants to see Jim walk down the aisle, so they're going for it in two frantic weeks."

Now, I'm a web geek, and I had read this description before I saw the flick in theatres today. And to my great surprise, the "married in two weeks" concept did not appear in the film at all. Jim's grandmother only graces the film with her presence in the last reel, and no illness is ever mentioned.

So obviously, some last-minute editing hit American Wedding like the constant thunderstorms that have been bombarding Toronto for the past two weeks. I can't say if it really mattered: if I hadn't known what the original concept was, would I have missed it?

What I can say is that with this connective plot thread removed, the resulting film has a really, really weird pace and flavour, particularly in the first hour. It rockets from scene to scene with inexplicable verve, as the participants undergo what is, after all, a very normal series of events: the planning of a wedding.

Still, I didn't care much. I enjoyed American Wedding a great deal. Any fear that the third film in the series would tame on the de facto gross-out humour is nicely silenced by the "Stifler eats dog shit" sequence, which rather neatly outclasses all other comers in the entire trilogy for giving the audience reason to run from the theatre. In any other film, that would be a detriment. Here, it's call for applause.

Given the versatility that Jason Biggs has shown in all three films, he just has to be headed for bigger things. I feel rather the opposite about Seann William Scott, but I never kick a guy when he's got shit in his mouth. And I worship the ground that Eddie Kaye Thomas walks on. The only misstep here is that Alyson Hannigan isn't given much to do this time around other than play the traditional "bride in the wedding movie" role. After the star-making turn she pulled out in AP2, Aly deserves better.

I remain resolute in my belief that the American Pie films are the only true heirs to the John Hughes teen comedies of the 1980s. This is because, alongside the requisite teen shenanigans, there's genuine heart to the Pie flicks. Yeah, there's a hell of a lot of fun to be had at the expense of the sexual propriety of various baked goods, but at the end of the day, there's also a kid who's got a father who, though awkward, never fails to come through for him in the clinch, and a pack of friends who back up his every unfortunate move. And that's heart.