National Lampoon's Van Wilder DVD: Review By kerouac1

I can hear the exhasperated groans now. "How can you give Van Wilder 4.5 stars!?! It's a gross-out teen comedy for gods-sake!" Yeah, I know, I know. But you have to look at this one from a pure entertainment value point-of-view. I'm not saying this film is an artistic achievement or anything. But I'll be damned if it didn't crack me up the entire time. The fact of the matter is that this film accomplishes EXACTLY what it sets out to do, and that's a bit of an anomaly these days.

Ok, here's the "plot". Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds from "Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Shop") has been at Coolige College for 7 years. He loves it there. He loves the campus, the faculty, the security staff... basically, he loves everything about college, and he's not prepared to leave. And it's his love of college that has made him a living legend. If someone needs something, they go to Van. It's that simple. But when Van's rich, absentee father learns that Van is still in school, he cuts off his tuition check. Van, desparate to stay in school, now must raise the money to continue paying his tution. That's it. That's the plot. Nothing new. Nothing spectacular. But I'll be damned if it doesn't work!

So why is this movie so good? Well, for starters, Ryan Reynolds is hilarious. Ok, imagine Ferris Bueller, Ducky from Pretty In Pink, and Zack Morris all rolled into one. There, you've got Van. One of my barometers for how much I enjoy a film is by how much I quote it after one viewing. Well, I saw Van on a Friday night, and nearly everything that came out of my mouth the following WEEK was from the movie. His one liners are classic, as is his delivery of them. Add to the mix Kal Penn as Taj, the Indian exchange student who is Van's assistant for the year. He steals scenes and is a joy to watch. The only fairly weak link is Tara Reid as Van's love interest Gwen. I know Tara is the one who's supposed to play it straight, but she mostly comes off flat. Luckily, Reynolds saves her in their scenes together.

I watched the Unrated version of this DVD, and there's no mistaking who the demographic this was geared towards is. If you watch the menus on Unrated, you are treated with a nice chested woman wearing a white t-shirt with the menu options on it. When you pick an option, the t-shirt comes off, revealing a very nice set of breasts. Yeah, this one isn't really for the ladies. Other than that, this film gets the nice 2-disc treatment.

Additional Outtakes

As the credits roll, there are some nice outtakes to accompany them. Well, the second disc features even more outtakes. And from my viewing, it's obvious that the cast had a great time making this film. The outtakes are funny as hell and worth a look.

Deleted Scenes

There are a boat-load of deleted scenes and alternate takes. I love these because they add insight into where certain scenes were going. And besides that, you get more of Van being Van, which is what makes the movie in the first place.

Sugarcult "Bouncing Off The Walls" music video

A great song that is used on the menus of both discs. The video features Reynolds and Reid, and it's a fun video to watch. I love the addition of Music Videos on DVDs. It's just a nice touch.

Comedy Central's Reel Comedy: National Lampoon's Van Wilder

The usual Comedy Central featurette. It's fun, but nothing too engrossing.

Burly Bear TV Specials: Half Baked, Impostor, Movie Junky Live Action

My first introduction to Burly Bear TV. Now I wish I had it. This is a cool feature and I'm glad it was included.

There are a few more features, but I'll let you discover those on your own. All in all, this is a very nicely put together package. Usually DVDs get this treatment because it's a deep, layered film, and the filmmakers want you to get more insight into the movie. Not here. Here they just want to add to the fun of the film, and they succeed.

Yep, I'm a sucker for teen comedies. What can I say? They're fun. And every now and then, you need some mindless fun. If you don't get sucked in by Van's charm, you must not have a pulse. He's charismatic, funny, and has great screen presence. The supporting cast is equally funny, minus Reid's flat performance.

The bottom line is that this is a fun movie. THe DVD set is well presented, and the features add to the whole experience. If you're a fan of mindless fun, this is a great set to pick up.