National Lampoon, the people who brought us such gems as Animal House and Vacation, try to make a film that will click for a new generation of party animals. Well, they succeeded in making a film. I’ll credit them that much.
National Lampoon’s Van Wilder tells the story of professional student Vance Wilder, Jr. who has been attending Coolidge College for seven years. He’s avoided graduation because…well, I can’t tell you because that will spoil the movie. (If that’s possible.)
Van Wilder, Sr., the father (played by Tim Matheson, himself an alumnus of National Lampoon’s Animal House) has taken three years to notice his son hasn’t graduated yet and finally cuts off his tuition funds. Van Wilder has to figure out a way to pay his tuition and continue to avoid the real world. Gwen Petersen (Tara Reid), a reporter for the college newspaper, has been assigned to cover the story of Coolidge’s most-celebrated student and his unusual methods for funding his stay at the school. And, of course, Gwen’s boyfriend is the resident frat-boy lunkhead found in nearly every college movie. Will Van Wilder fall in love with Gwen? Will this cause problems with the lunkhead? Will someone learn a lesson along the way? What do you think?
Why do these types of films get made anyway? Who in this film’s target demographic hasn’t seen Animal House (or at least one of the many rip-offs) already? Animal House has been copied in almost every way possible since 1978 and no one — not even National Lampoon — has been able to duplicate its mix of humor and sly wit. Seemingly the only way to top Animal House anymore is to out-gross it and Van Wilder tries its hardest to do just that. I can’t recall any other films that use dog semen, baked goods and masturbation as building blocks for a joke.
Ryan Reynolds, who plays the title character, tries hard to be likable, but comes off as an odd Jim Carrey impersonator. He deserves better. Tara Reid, who’s very easy on the eyes, seems a little too old to be playing a college student. (Although, her recent track record doesn’t indicate any attempts to stretch beyond the teen genre, so maybe I’m wrong in suggesting that she’s wrong for this role.)
In any event, National Lampoon’s Van Wilder is recommended…if you need to prop up a wobbly table or need a coaster for a beverage. As a movie, it’s worthless.
0.5 out of 5.0 stars
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