Stars:
Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Tim Matheson, and Paul Gleason
Writers:
Brent Goldberg and David T. Wagner
Director:
Walt Becker
Feature
length: 94 minutes
Extras:
Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, TV Specials, Music Video, Music Sampler, Art Gallery,
Cast And Crew Bios, Production Notes, TV Spots, and Trailers
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound 2.0
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Two – Disc Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 22
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound 2.0
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
Home
Video Distributor: Artisan Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Ryan
Reynolds is Van Wilder, a seven-year undergraduate who has perfected the art of
being a college student to a science. He is handsome, bright, and very likeable,
but he has been unfocused as to what exactly he wants to do after he graduates
so he has purposely found ways to stay in school. However his wealthy father,
played by “National Lampoon’s Animal House” alumni Tim Matheson, has had
enough of his son’s procrastination in school and has decided to no longer
flip the bill for his tuition, leaving Wilder to use his skills at throwing
radical parties and overall charisma to earn the money to finish out the
semester. However Wilder’s life takes an unexpected turn when he meets an
aspiring journalism student (Tara Reid) out to write the definitive newspaper
article on the campus legend. She is also hip to his charms and sees tenderness
within him that he hides behind his smart-alecky attitude. As an attraction
develops between them, events cause Wilder to reconsider the direction of his
life.
I
wish I had a friend like Van Wilder when I went to college. The film is likely
to be compared to the granddaddy of all campus comedies “National Lampoon’s
Animal House,” but really that is an unfair comparison because the films are
very different though the humor is basically on the same sophomoric level.
However when compared to most campus comedies that have followed, “National
Lampoon’s Van Wilder” is vastly superior mostly because of the charismatic
performance Ryan Reynolds brings to his portrayal of the signature character.
Wilder never uses his popularity to hurt other people and in fact I’d say he
does a heck of a good job at elevating their self-esteem.
Tara
Reid looks great in this film and does a nice job holding her own on screen with
Ryan while the supporting characters get a lot of laughs. One of the best lines
in the film comes from Paul Gleason (The Breakfast Club) toward the end of the
film. I would go into more detail, but it’s better you hear it yourself. The
bloopers and outtakes shown as the credits roll are also hilarious. Overall
“National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” is great fun.
Artisan
Home Entertainment’s Two-Disc Set of the unrated version of “National
Lampoon’s Van Wilder” features an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and full
screen (1.33:1) versions of the film on the same dual layered DVD. There is
maybe a minute or so of extra material in the film, but nothing that struck me
as being too far to sustain an R rating, especially after seeing the theatrical
cut. The image quality on both transfers is very nice with no anomalies and
compression artifacts at all. Both presentations also a feature a well mixed
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack as well an English Dolby Surround
Soundtrack coupled with English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing
impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded on to the dual layered DVD as
options.
As
far as I am aware, this is the first mainstream film to feature a choice of
censored or uncensored full motion interactive menus where “Naomi” (That’s
I Moan Backwards!) pleasantly reveals her beautiful breasts much to the delight
of any viscerally charged male and maybe some females too! There are a few
Easter eggs on both discs, but I could not find all of them though one features
30-seconds of “Naomi” dancing about in a wet t-shirt. These menus are
exclusive only to the unrated version of the film.
The
rest of the extra features, which also feature the fabulous “Naomi” are on
the second disc. These features include the (1.85:1) widescreen theatrical
teaser and two theatrical trailers as well as three TV spots. There are nine
deleted scenes presented in a letterboxed (1.85:1) aspect ratio from a
videotaped source and feature another “Unrated Version” exclusive involving
the topless tutors sequence. Since the joke is a payoff for something that only
appears in the first act of the unrated version, it is appropriate to have it
included only on this edition because out of context with the theatrical cut, it
just wouldn’t make any sense. There are also 12 outtakes that are somewhat
funny, but get kind of dull real fast.
The
Van Wilder Files contains elements from the website that include a two newspaper
articles regarding the character, an “Ask Van Wilder” collection of letters,
Van Wilder’s college application, and a disciplinary report. The music video
for “Bouncing Off The Walls” by Sugarcult, which features Ryan Reynolds and
Tara Reid in character from the film is also included as well as a sound clip
sampler for songs from the CD soundtrack. There is a gallery of one-sheet
concepts for the film and an Artisan Home Entertainment trailer gallery
featuring DVD-Video previews for “Good Advice,” Novocaine,” “Reservoir
Dogs,” “Frank Herbert’s Dune,” “Glengarry Glenn Ross,” and “The
Rambo Trilogy.”
The
Comedy Central Special features actors from the film in character from the film
discussing “Van Wilder” as if it were some sort of news investigation and
there are also cast appearances from the Burly Bear Network shows “Half
Baked,” “Impostor,” and “Movie Junky.” On screen production notes and
detailed cast and crew biographies and filmographies wrap up the extra features
included on the second disc.
As
a whole, I really enjoyed “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” and think
Artisan Home Entertainment has done a standup job with this two-disc set.
“National Lampoon’s Van Wilder: Van Gone Wilder: The Unrated Version:
Two-Disc Set” will debut on DVD-Video along with the R-rated counterpart on
Tuesday, August 20, 2002 from Artisan Home Entertainment and I highly recommend
checking it out.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.