By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "American Wedding," the third film in the "American Pie" comedy franchise, took the cake at the North American box office in its first weekend, while Hollywood power couple Jennifer Lopez (news) and Ben Affleck (news) ate humble pie with one of the biggest flops of the summer.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "American Wedding" sold $34.3 million worth of tickets since opening on Aug. 1. Last weekend's champion, the family comedy "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over," slipped to No. 2 with $20.1 million for the three days.

At the other end of the charts, the Lopez-Affleck effort "Gigli" (pronounced Jhee-lee), pulled in just $3.8 million, tying at No. 7 with the blockbuster cartoon "Finding Nemo."

Perhaps disproving the adage that no publicity is bad publicity, the marketing for the $54 million-budgeted "Gigli" was hobbled by breathless media coverage of the couple's glamorous real-life exploits, said Tom Sherak, a principal at the film's producer, Revolution Studios.

"We couldn't separate the movie from their real lives," he said. "You don't look at them as actors in this movie. You look at them as Jen and Ben."

Lopez, also known as J.Lo, plays a lesbian crook who helps Affleck's dim-witted character in a kidnapping plot. The film, directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Martin Brest ("Scent of a Woman"), was distributed by Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites)'s Columbia Pictures, where privately held Revolution is based.

Critics have savaged "Gigli." The New York Times dismissed it as a "hopelessly misconceived exercise in celebrity self-worship," while the Washington Post said it was "enervated, torpid, slack, dreary and, oh yes, nasty, brutish and long."

PROFITABLE 'WEDDING'

"American Wedding," which cost about $55 million to make, will be hugely profitable for Universal Pictures, said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution at the Vivendi Universal SA -owned studio.

With many of the stars from the first two films absent from the new lineup, the film's opening fell short of the $45.1 million bow of "American Pie 2" in 2001. But it did beat the $18.7 million tally for the first outing in 1999. Jason Biggs (news) and Alyson Hannigan (news) star as the couple whose trip to the altar is accompanied by multiple "gross-out" gags.

Jesse Dylan, a son of folk-rock singer and composer Bob Dylan (news), directed.

"Spy Kids 3D: Game Over," featuring a villainous turn from fading star Sylvester Stallone (news), has earned $69 million after two weekends. The film, directed by Robert Rodriguez (news), is on track to surpass its predecessors. "Spy Kids" made $113 million in 2001, while "Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" finished with $86 million in 2002.

Rounding out the top five were Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" at No. 3 with $19.1 million, followed by Universal's "Seabiscuit" with $17.5 million and Sony's "Bad Boys II" with $12.7 million.

"Pirates," a buccaneer adventure starring Johnny Depp (news), sailed to $209.8 million after four weekends. "Seabiscuit," featuring Tobey Maguire (news) in the fact-based drama about a race horse, galloped to $49 million after two weekends. "Bad Boys II," reuniting Martin Lawrence (news) and Will Smith (news) as Miami cops, has seized $111.3 million after three weekends, easily eclipsing the $66 million total of its 1995 predecessor.

1. American Wedding .......... $33,369,440

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $33,369,440

2. Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over .......... $19,500,260

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $68,505,515

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl .......... $18,844,044

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $209,531,292

4. Seabiscuit .......... $17,636,985

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $49,223,245

5. Bad Boys II .......... $12,734,526

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $111,346,063

6. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life .......... $11,339,464

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $42,599,015

7. Finding Nemo .......... $3,860,462

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $320,020,760

8. Gigli .......... $3,753,518

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $3,753,518

9. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .......... $3,266,798

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $58,955,959

10. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines .......... $2,985,446

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $142,853,468

John L.: This was the weekend critics all across the nation have been waiting for. The weekend that Gigli (pronounced guy-glee) debuted at the cineplex had all of the movie pontificators salivating waiting for the moment they can trash Jennifer Lynn Lopez-Noa-Judd and Benjamin Geza Affleck-Damon's new movie Gigli (pronounced giggly). Is the new movie directed by Martin Brest as horrible as the buzz says it is. Full review coming up. American Wedding is the third in the American Pie series and most likely the last one since I doubt most of the cast would be willing to play these characters for a fourth time except for Thomas Ian Nicholas who really really seems to need the extra cash. Is a third helping of rapele pie worth the recipe? Probably.

American Pie was my favorite movie of 1999. It brought back some old school (1980s) style teenage shenanigans as well as added this sideways wholesomeness that helped it cross over into a mainstream success. The characters of Jim, Jim's Dad, Finch, Michelle or band camp, Stifler, and Stifler's mom became icons the movie going public. In 2001, American Pie 2 was released and was just a way to cash in on the success of the first one. It was funny, lacked any discernable story to lock onto and care about. All of the original cast returned for the sequel, but most of them were underused or were just not funny. Out of the sequel, two characters received much more screen time, Steve Stifler and Michelle Flaherty. Stifler was a madman who took over every scene he appeared in whether he was the focal point or not. Michelle was a one joke slut in Pie 1, but in this movie she was shown as having true feelings that could be stepped on. Their expanded roles helped make American Pie 2 better than it's low rent script. Since both movies were very successful at the box office, we get American Pie 3, better known as American Wedding. Jim (Jason Biggs) the hapless sex starved fool has finally decided to commit to his first and only sexual conquest, Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) by proposing marriage. Unfortunately, Jim seems to be surrounded by this permanent cloud or aura of bad luck that must be macheted through to get to the usually satisfactory resolution. In the first movie he climaxes twice before even touching the hot exchange student Nadia. In Pie 2 he glues his hand to himself while watching a porno film. After those instances, he became a better person. In AW, he realizes he can't propose to Michelle because he forgot to put the ring in the box. What happens from there is just sad, but since everyone knows that a wedding will occur, it somehow works out and Michelle agrees to walk that aisle. Jim has two friends, Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) who he has kept in touch with through his college years as Oz and the other girls from the previous movies have gone their separate ways and are never mentioned in AW. Finch and Kevin are lock to be groomsmen as well has Jim's Dad (Eugene Levy). Ahh, but the king of the parties, Steven Stifler seems to have lost his invitation in the darker regions of his mind as he is unwelcome to the ceremony because wherever Stifler is, trouble is dragging at his feet. Stifler does enter the festivities as he somehow endears himself to Michelle's family who love his sweet side. All those that know Steven, know there is no sweet side, and it is all an act to get with Cadence, Michelle's hot sister. With all of this set up, the movie has a nice plot that can carry it through all of its various perverted mishaps. And there are quite the many as each scene plays out more like a sketch than a nice moment in time. There is the bachelor party, losing the ring, destroying the wedding cake, wilting flower arrangements, and gay dance offs to name just a few of the events that set up the foolishness. All of the actors in the movie are having a good time as they have settled into the roles and even show a growing maturity despite the juvenilishness of their antics. Biggs is the heart of the movie and he is as clumsy as ever. He is now typecast into playing variations of Jim in his other movies. His scenes with Hannigan and Levy are limited, but they show a strong chemistry that you wait for in anticipation of something good. Levy's father/son talks have been classic cinematic moments and he even gets to have one with Hannigan that is my favorite part of the movie when they go one one for the first time. My favorite has always been Finch with his delusional exquisiteness and how it never really gets him any respect except when he gets with Stifler's Mom (Jennifer Coolidge). Finch and Stifler have been at each other's throats throughout all of the movies, and their rivalry comes to a head here as they compete for the affections of Cadence. January Jones is pretty dull in the role especially when she is supposed to get excited when she hears something dirty and act like she enjoys sophomoric antics. I never believed for once she would get a kick out of guys using the "eff word" in every single sentence. Thomas Ian Nicholas seems to just show up from time time in AW as he has no storyline and in some scenes, no dialogue. He makes one statement that explains why Jim is not a complete loser that he has to rush through as near the end of his soliloquy, another character is rushing in to step over his screen time. Nicholas was a mercy casting in my opinion. American Wedding is just as funny as the other Pie movies and brings a nice close to the series. A sequel could be made, but getting the core cast back for it may seem difficult since actors tend to put down any movie that they get their biggest fame from since it pigeonholes them into playing those types of roles all of the time. The mix of raunch and heartwarming moments is a perfect formula that should continue into one or two more sequels like American Baby, American Divorce, American Social Security, and my favorite, American Politics (Stifler for President). Think about what would go on beneath his desk? Final Review: 3 1/2 stars out of 5; 7 out of 10; B; thumbs up.

Ben Affleck plays Larry Gigli (rhymes with piggly) who is a contract hitman of sorts. The movie says he is a hitman, but he seems to be more of an enforcer, intimidating type who shows up and scares you while another guy would come later to kill you if Gigli's (rhymes with getting jiggly with it) tactics don't work. One day, one of his contacts, Louis (Lenny Venito) gives him a job. Gigli (rhymes with squeegee) has to kidnap a federal prosecutor's half retarded, half tourrettes syndrome, half gangsta rapper brother, Brian (Justin Bartha), from the mental institution and keep him busy until charges are dropped on Starkman (Al Pacino). Lenny is rigli nervous about Gigli's (rhymes with paco) capabilities at doing this job, so he brings in another hitperson, Ricki (rhymes with Richelle) played by Jennifer Lopez (rhymes with Pez Dispenser) to make sure Gigli (pronounced gigli) doesn't eff up. And from there the action just gets more and more amazing. Gigli (rhymes with gobble gobble) is a movie that wanted to have an independent movie feel with big stars. Getting Lopez and Affleck was a big deal 2 years ago when this movie was made as it would seem these two would match up well on screen. Oh yeah, it also taps into this lipstick lesbian shtick that movies and television loves so much with all of their very special episodes and movies where hot girls kiss each other. Lopez's Ricki is gay, I guess, as the only reason you believe it at all is because she says it. From the moment she meets Affleck, she's in love with him and pretends not to be. The writers should have just eliminated that whole point of the plot and had it be she was avoiding Gigli (rhymes with rhymes) not because he has a penis but because as a professional hit person, you should not make things personal because it gets in the way of the job. That would be more believable and make the romance more acceptable. In fact part of the reason the movie had so much bad buzz was because the trailers never mentioned the gay aspect of the film not as a way to surprise the audience, but because the hype makers seemed to be ashamed of the plot point. There are two instances that put over her lesbianism. Her girlfriend, Robin (Missy Rider) shows up and when Ricki and Gigli (rhymes with Ilgig) go to a post office, Ricki gives the goo goo eyes to the female mail clerk. The girlfriend section was very lame, but I must say the mailroom moment showed at least some effort to convince the audience of Ricki's preferences. Overall, Lopez is not convincing as she is giving her standard romantic comedy performance and her tough girl act is too forced. Ben Affleck comes out a little better as Gigli (rhymes with jigli). His acting is fine, but his Italian mobster accent goes on for about 20 minutes and then it disappears. The director should have kept Affleck consistent, or just changed the character to non Italian. He and Lopez have alright chemistry, but it is hard to gauge since they are supposed to be incompatible for most of the movie. The lack of chemistry is a plot point. However, the movie tries to hard to force them together violating it's own premise. The only reason to even tolerate the film, or at least what supposed to be the voice of reason is Brian. Brian is never sure what is going on, but he is the magical mentally handicapped person that can do no wrong except to annoy the leads. For some reason it's funny when he asks for Baywatch and sings "old school" rap songs. His character is too much of a joke and his appealing aspects are not natural at all and are just as pointless as Ricki's lesbianism. The story problems really (rhymes with Gigli) hurt the movie as the plot is so unbelievable. They kidnap this outspoken disturbed person and take him to diners, malls, and drive around in a convertible. Not very good kidnappers. One character even says how stupid the plot is which just confirms the problems the movie has. Once the story does get going, the scenes seem disconnected. They are more like little sketches or slices of life. The Christopher Walken and Lainie Kazan scenes are so pointless, I would say don't see the movie just to avoid their 15 minutes combined of screen time. When the movie ends, you realize you have just sat through nothing much. It is too harmless to really concern yourself with. I liked some parts of the movie like the "Baby Got Back Rap" and the ending scene with Brian, but the forced moments between Lopez and Affleck trying to convince each other which sexuality is better are more boring than interesting. I will say that Lopez won the argument if the point was that the female body is more desirable than the males. Duh. Just bend over some more. Gigli (rhymes with something) is a movie that seemed to be unfinished or rushed as the editing and writing are just not there to sustain it. There are worse movies than this, but it will be up to Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl" to repair the damage this has done to Affleck and Lopez's acting careers. Final Review: 2 stars out of 5; 4 1/2 out of 10; C; thumbs down.

1. Despite Spy Kids 3-D's poor special effects, it still has a premise that appeals to the kids.

2. When Spy Kids 4: The Lost Mission is made, hopefully the sister will get the main focus and have to rescue the brother.

3. With the success of the first $200 million Disney ride, I expect Space Mountain: The Curse of Ric Flair to be greenlighted very soon. (Only hardcore wrestling fans will get that reference).

4. Seabiscuit is the most successful Jeff Bridges movie in years.

5. Bad Boys II is doing okay, but not as well as the soundtrack.

6. The next Tomb Raider should be the search for the executive who said that a sequel was demanded by the public.

7. Finding Nemo has now grossed more than every Albert Brooks and Ellen Degeneres movie cominded times 2.

8. If a Finding Nemo sequel goes straight to video, it will be the first animated movie sequel I have ever bought.

9. Sean Connery should have known LXG was a mistake when he could understand it and not the other movies he turned down like Matrix and Lord of the Rings.

10. The chances for Terminator 4 have greatly diminished with the announcement of Arnold running for the governorship of California.

Next week's box office is a little light as S.W.A.T. and Freaky Friday are the only major films. They might do well as there is some good critical buzz. I'm just waiting for Freddy vs Jason to come out. Bye for now.