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Reunion (2002)
Theatrical Release: Nov 15, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: The committee member will call and the gold foiled invite will come in the mail. The high school reunion will find you and remind you of where you came from, and, no matter how you've lived or who you've loved, you are still the same now as you were then. The twenty year reunion is a crossroads.... The committee member will call and the gold foiled invite will come in the mail. The high school reunion will find you and remind you of where you came from, and, no matter how you've lived or who you've loved, you are still the same now as you were then. The twenty year reunion is a crossroads. Substantial time has passed since you were worrying about zits, sex, college and parents' divorces. It's been ages since you sang ABBA at the top of your lungs, watched "Dallas" when your parents were out, ate McDonalds or witnessed the first Space Shuttle launch on TV. Once, you had few cares in the world. On Reunion weekend for the 1981 graduating class of Nordhoff High, six friends will find themselves together again. Within the reunion of these high school friends are individual reunions with time and the truths that they have decided to face. Patrick, with his career military father, returning home to announce he just retired from the Army. Ty, with the son he never met because his life was his music career. J.C., with the shadow of his deceased brother, running a pizza place he resents and snorting too much cocaine. Mindy, with herself, after kissing a twenty-year marriage goodbye. Margaret, now Mayor of Ojai, with the reality that there is pain in life. And Brad, voted Most Likely to Succeed, but has not, with a reunion he does not understand. And Jeanie? Well, Jeanie is the mystery graduate, the outsider who meets Brad on this day and is brought into this circle. Her reunion is with the secrets of her past. When these high school friends reunite, they will either cross the threshold from the mundane to bliss, or linger at the gateway, unsure which way may serve them best. The truth is no matter where you go, what you learn or how you change, you are essentially the same person, with the same personality, and expectations of yourself and others. "This is your night class of 1981. Don't be hard on yourselves. Let it all hang out." -- © 2001 O'Hara/Klein [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Billy Wirth, Marlene Forte, Jennifer Rubin, Dwier Brown, Steven Gilborn
Reviews
an intriguing and often bittersweet drama that benefits from both the stripped-down aesthetic of the original Dogme 95 dictates and the more commercial flourishes
What does standout, through the mishmash of moviemaking techniques, is a gentle and revitalizing reunion between old friends...
"American Reunion" is able to transcend its technical limitations with the help of some fine performances and a nicely turned screenplay.
Reunion tries hard, means well, but makes a big mistake in believing that cheap production values automatically bestow integrity.
You never feel like any more than a tourist in these people's lives.
This melodrama is so trite you'll be mouthing lines a beat before the characters.

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