"Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive." This message, given to Van Wilder by one of his old partying buddies, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former student journalist whose best student piece was "Light Beer vs. Dark -- the Showdown," perfectly sums up "National Lampoon's Van Wilder."
"Wilder," from the pen of writing team Brent Goldberg and David Wagner, is just what you'd expect from the duo that brought us the 1998 short comedy "Saving Ryan's Privates," and the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen smash "Holiday in the Sun."
And yet, it is the movie's own irreverence that makes it succeed. It's not high art, but it's exactly what it should be, even if it does not reach the "National Lampoon's Animal House" pinnacle to which it aspires. Quick editing, which seemed so out of place in "The Phantom Menace," is perfectly appropriate for a movie about short-attention-span college students. The cartoonish sound effects can get in the way of some of the gags but are expected in a National Lampoon film.
Unfortunately, "Van Wilder" doesn't get going until 25 minutes in, when Wilder's tight-fisted father informs him that after seven years in college he's going to stop paying tuition and angrily calls him the "worst investment I ever made."
Harsh words from the man who played Otter in "Animal House." The solution to this problem, or any problem, as a good college student will know, is to throw a party. And Wilder does, getting paid to throw the greatest party ever seen by the stereotypical fraternity with the highest GPA on campus.
Ultra-dedicated reporter Gwen Pearson, played by Tara Reid, uncovers the scheme, and the next day, on the front page of the school paper, "Van Wilder -- Party Liason" is born. At first angry, Van Wilder, played with a distinctly Ferris-Bueller feel by Ryan Reynolds, begins to come around when he realizes that he can earn enough money throwing parties to pay for his tuition this year, and even beyond.
Problems arise when Wilder falls, slightly unconvincingly, for Reid and has to deal with the appropriately named Richard Bagg, pre-med and president of both Delta Iota Kappa fraternity and the Student Council.
In a daring twist, Daniel Cosgrove makes Bagg seem just as intelligent and devious as Wilder with quick and witty lines.
"Van Wilder," despite many attempts, is no "Animal House," the gold standard for college comedies. But Wilder is updated for a new generation of college students. The old slobs vs. snobs appeal of the post-sixties has been replaced by the equally entertaining issue of relaxed vs.
hyper-dedicated.
Minorities too, play an equally visible role in this "Van Wilder," something that never occurred in the past. Van's bumbling Indian sidekick could be called a racist stereotype, but the fact is that the sidekick in all movies of this type simply must be bumbling, exceedingly horny and immature. At the same time Taj, played by Kal Penn, possesses a drive and determination that Wilder never comes close to equaling, even if Taj's eventual goal is to, let's say, pass an oral exam.
It's rare to hear this said of college or teen movies, but possibly the best thing about the movie was the script. The movie is chock-full of zingy one-liners and subtly hilarious gags, many of which are provided by Reid's frat-house-hangout sorority girl, played by Kim Smith.
While the writers clearly took a page from "American Pie" and "Dumb and Dumber" when it comes to gross-out comedy, the sheer wittiness that many of the characters exhibit makes up for the more lowbrow moments of the film.
Despite the script and Reynolds' charming insouciance, there are some problems with the film. The relationship between Pearson and Wilder seems a bit too contrived and just happens too quickly.
Despite these problems, the lackadaisical charm of the film comes through and the audience is willing to forgive a few mistakes in the name of the unbelievable hilarity of Van's life.
The movie finishes in exactly the way that it should, one last blowout for the party liaison and probably the best last line I've ever heard in a movie.
Wilder doesn't have the fresh innocence of "Animal House" and the sweetness isn't as sincere as in "Pie," but as a witty movie depicting college life as it could be, this is probably the best we'll see for a long time to come.
