Rated R - Running Time: 1:32 - Released 4/5/02
VAN WILDER
Rated R - Running Time: 1:32 - Released 4/5/02
Anyone old enough to remember National Lampoon's Animal House
will recognize the similarities between it and the Lampoon's new
college party movie, Van Wilder. The thing is, no one in
Van Wilder's target audience is old enough to remember
Animal House. And it's a good thing, because this film
doesn't compare very favorably. Telling the tale of a perpetual
senior who has decided to make college his home, Van Wilder
is mainly a collection of dumb sight gags, gross-out jokes, and
comic sex, with a dull-as-dishwater premise and a spotty cast
list. While its star, Ryan Reynolds, is reasonably charming and
shows a good sense of timing, his romantic opposite, Tara Reid,
shows all the sparkle and spontaneity of a wet paper bag. Reid,
who holds the award for Most Boring Character in both the American
Pie movies and Josie
And The Pussycats, proves again she is nothing more than
a cheaper version of her former classmate, Sarah Michelle Gellar.
That is, a pretty face with no other redeeming qualitites.
Written by Brent Goldberg & David Wagner and directed by
Walt Becker (all virtual novices), the film introduces us to its
title character (Reynolds), a suave, charming 7th-year undergrad
at Coolidge College, who, although he hardly ever goes to class,
is more intelligent than anyone else on campus, including the
professors, and has a long line of people interviewing for the
coveted position as his assistant. The winner is an Indian transfer
student named Taj (Kal Penn), who admits that his interest in
the post stems from a desire to get laid. But when Van's dad (Tim
Matheson) decides to cut off his son's tuition money, Van and
Taj must come up with $20,000 for him to stay in school. Thinking
this is an interesting story idea, the school newspaper editor
(played briefly by Tom Everett Scott) assigns no-nonsense journalist
and Most Boring Character winner Gwen (Reid) to get the story.
The film goes predictably from there, with Gwen at first disliking
Van, but then discovering that he's really a charming guy with
integrity and scruples, as opposed to her own snooty frat-boy
fiancé (Daniel Cosgrove), and for some reason, Van is attracted
to her, too. Along the way we are treated to every juvenile joke
imaginable, from a sex-crazed elderly woman to a dog with huge
testicles to a diarrhea-plagued final exam student. It's all absolutely
hilarious if you are under 16 years old.
Tara Reid really stinks in this film. I had not noticed how bad she was in the past, probably because in her other films she was wisely relegated to the background (i.e., room decoration) while others were given the more substantive parts. But in the romantic leading role, she shows about as much talent as a stick. She's having no fun and she's not helping us have any, either; her smiles are pasted-on and insincere, her anger is fake, and she reads her lines like the ingredients on the back of a cereal box. Reynolds excels at being the clever bad boy with a heart of gold, and Penn has some mildly amusing moments, but Reid's lifeless technique has a sucking quality that brings everyone else down with it. Although this film bears the same environment as Animal House, the similarity ends there. **½