For than Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds), college is not about getting an education, it's a way of life, a life of partying and having fun. After 7 years of 'failing' to get an education, his dad decides to get tough and stop paying for his education. Is the party over? Not for Van, who, with the help of his friends, he sets about earning money to continue his fun loving existence. Through a series of ingenious schemes and fund raising parties, Van's way of life becomes of huge interest to a college reporter, Gwen (Tara Reid). Through a series of unfortunate events, Van realises that he may have to do something he never imagined possible….. he may have to GRADUATE.
This film is in the same set as American Pie and Road Trip, with a mixture of gross out comedy, romance and coming of age. The story is predictable to say the least, but the main purpose of this film is the visual comedy which dominates 99% of the film. You get the usual romance story, boy meets girl, girl is
with someone else, but realises that he is not the one for her, schedule happy ending. You also get the story of a man who realises that he can no longer live the teenage life and it is about time he does something with his life. Other than that there is not much else to the story, but don't let that detract from what this film is all about, and that is the humour.
The main star of the film is Ryan Reynolds who plays the part of fun loving Van very well, then again there is not that much depth to the character so in my eyes was not that difficult. You then have Tara Reid, I apologise to any fans of Tara Reid, but I believe she is only in this film for her looks and not her acting ability, for me she spends most of the time looking like a rabbit stuck in the headlights of a car. An interesting piece of casting is Tim Matheson as Van's father; firstly the resemblance between the two of them is uncanny, but also he starred in the original college party film "National Lampoon's Animal House". Also, there is a Cameo by Chris Owen (American Pie) early on in the film. The rest of the cast are adequate in assisting in this continual gag fest.
This is Walt Becker's first film as a director, and he does a satisfactory job of keeping the film moving along and should be satisfied that this film is nearly as good as the American Pie series. The cinematography and soundtrack are again satisfactory but in the same breath, unmemorable. I cannot put my finger on any scene where I though wow that was well filmed, or that piece of music really works well, but then again I cannot put my finger on any scene where I though that camera angle didn't work.
The Cast -----------
Ryan Reynolds .... Van Wilder Tara Reid .... Gwen Pearson Tim Matheson .... Vance Wilder Sr. Kal Penn .... Taj Mahal Badalandabad Teck Holmes .... Hutch Daniel Cosgrove .... Richard Bagg Deon Richmond .... Mini Cochran Alex Burns .... Gordon Emily Rutherfurd .... Jeannie Paul Gleason .... Professor Ted McDoogle Erik Estrada .... Himself Curtis Armstrong .... Campus Cop
Technical Details ---------------------
Certificate: 15 Length: 89 mins
The Message & Christian View Point --------------------------------------------
"Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you". I am not criticising the humour in this film, as at times I found it very funny. What I am saying is that we should be careful of how we treat others and think would we want that done to us.
The other thing from this film was that at some point we all have to face reality and grow up. It may not be an easy thing to do, but until you realise it, you don't know what you could be missing out on.
Conclusion & Rating -------------------------
This is an enjoyable film, and is very easy to watch, although at times I feel that some of the jokes may be pushing on the realms of plain right disgusting (éclair scene). The film runs very smoothly and you find yourself routing for Van to achieve his goals. I don't believe that it is as good as the American Pie series but does an admirable effort in doing so. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a fun packed unchallenging film and would guarantee that they will watch it more than once.
Unfortunately I did not have the DVD to hand to review this film and had to settle for a video. The DVD costs around £7.00 from Amazon and has the following bonus features:
Trailers Interviews Deleted Scenes Interactive Game
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Van Wilder(Ryan Reynolds) has managed to spend a decade loafing at college by deliberately ... more
failing his finals each year. When his dad wakes up and pulls his funding, Van turns to his party-organising skills and big-man-on-campus image to pay his way. C...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Van Wilder(Ryan Reynolds) has managed to spend a decade loafing at college by deliberately ... more
failing his finals each year. When his dad wakes up and pulls his funding, Van turns to his party-organising skills and big-man-on-campus image to pay his way. C...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
To Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds), college doesn't get you ready for life, it is life. So when ... more
his father puts a stop to his cash flow, it looks like the party might finally be over for Van. Down, but not out, Van, and his team devise a series of money-mak...
Ryan Reynolds gives a charismatic performance as a seventh year senior Van Wilder who ... more
wants nothing more than to continue his cushy life at Coolidge College as "Campus Legend." With a personal assistant and a panache for throwing parties graduation ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Van Wilder - Party Liaison [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78521944.jpg "Van Wilder - Party Liaison [DVD] [2002]")
Jan 28th, 2006
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