10 Reunion Movies That Make Us Want To Get The Gang Back Together
In an era reliant on nostalgia-based media, reboots have become a safer bet than in the past. Though the standard still demands they are done right, for nothing is loathed more by fans than a return to a beloved fictional universe where they are more invested than the players involved.
The following ten "reunion movies" feature a few sequels that fit the above description. Also included are original films with plots that hinge on the reunion tropes that make the former category of films more appealing than ever before.
10 American Reunion (2012)
The quintessential "gang back together" movie, American Reunion places the East Great Falls classmates from the 1999 smash hit back where it all started for a high school reunion.
While their careers may have diverged, the few American Pie actors who gained stardom in the years since the original trilogy and the few who didn't clearly had a blast returning to the raunch.
9 Jay And Silent Bob Reboot (2019)
For his latest film that he billed as equal parts reboot, remake, and sequel, cult filmmaker Kevin Smith proved himself the king of all things fan service deliverance.
Revisiting the adored "View Askewniverse" for the first time since 2006's Clerks II, Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back sequel entertained returnee audiences in a similar boat as the stoner duo. The film asserts that one can still squeal with laughter at cartoon-adjacent buffoonery while accepting the certainty of getting older.
8 This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
The Shawn Levy-directed ensemble dramedy brought Jason Bateman's Judd Altman Shiva-set requiem - distracting himself from the end of his marriage due to his wife's infidelity by mourning the death of his father. Though he was not the only one in need of a return home, as his brothers (Adam Driver, Corey Stoll), sister (Tina Fey), and mother (Jane Fonda) all come together to reverse years of unspoken repression and resentment.
7 A Very Brady Christmas (1988)
Between ill-fated variety shows and other scripted revivals of the original 1969-1974 sitcom, The Bradys - sans Susan Olsen - returned for this 1988 Holiday special to highlight the struggles a family faces when the kids have left the nest to confront marital and occupational issues of all kinds.
Yet something about being under the same roof responsible for molding them into American's favorite blended family magically infects them all with the desire to re-acquire the happiness they once all shared.
6 The Big Chill (1983)
The nostalgia trip hangout movie served as Lawrence Kasdan's (screenwriter, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark) sophomore directorial effort. Released in 1983, the film documents a group of former thicker-than-thieves University of Michigan students who come back together again 15 years later for more excess partying and candid discourse about their uncertain futures while reeling from the loss-by-suicide of one of their own.
5 Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Often considered the weakest of Steven Soderbergh's heist trilogy, there is no disputing rewatches of Ocean's Twelve remind fans or initial naysayers of the beauty found in rallying the troops for another high-leverage job. The 2004 film expands upon its predecessor by adding one more member and layer to the fold. The end result: an intoxicating demonstration of why people from all walks of life should never fall out of touch with the people who had their backs in absolute crunch time.
4 Every Post-Tokyo Drift Fast And Furious Movie (2009-)
The franchise that refuses to die with good reason reached a point mid-way in where a new formula was established. Now, nearly every entry is an installment tasked to incorporate increasingly expensive theatrics while crafting even more unique ways to tell a "one last job" narrative.
No matter how much closure Dom Torretto and the crew attain in each film, victory shall always be temporary - with fans reaping all the benefits.
3 The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Like other entries, this Academy Award-nominated Wes Anderson family drama brings a dysfunctional family back in the throes of head-budding and typically-avoided confrontation after many years apart. The titular Tenenbaums find ironic virtue when their lapsed patriarch Royal (Gene Hackman), in yet another on-brand deceitful act - lying about a terminal diagnosis - inspires his flock to fly back to each other again, and feel unashamed while doing so.
2 Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
Even if the claims that the 2013 Anchorman follow-up didn't hold a candle to the original were true, one must admit this is more of a testament to the classic status of the first outing - not indicative of any shortcomings the sequel might wield.
Much like the rest, Anchorman 2 elates audiences to the possibilities of reigniting old, hilarity-filled sparks with their own old "news team" - but with a bigger budget and more star power this go-around. For instance, getting The Ghost of Stonewall Jackson involved.
1 T2 Trainspotting (2017)
"So what you been up to... for 20 years?"
Director Danny Boyle and his original muse, Ewan McGregor, squashing their decades-long beef became the gain of fans who place their 1996 collaboration on the punk-rock and heavy drug-fueled Trainspotting on the highest of pedestals. For the 2017 sequel, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremmer, and Robert Carlyle also agreed to reprise the Edinburgh-born characters they popularized - all still desperate to find purpose again. Whether through reliving the "good times" with each other, modernizing versions of their same old get rich quick schemes - or both.
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