Van Wilder: Party Liaison * (2002, Ryan Reynolds, Tim Matheson, Tara Reid, Kal Penn) – Classic Movie Review 3007

Director Walt Becker’s 2002 comedy is more or less National Lampoon’s Animal House is revisited 25 years on, with one of its stars. Tim Matheson, now playing the workaholic dad of eternal student slacker Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds), who must find a way of partying on in college after pop stops his grant.

A strong candidate for muckiest grossout comedy of its year, it misses out on the laughs, juvenile high-spirits and sheer fun of its illustrious ancestor. Brent Goldberg and David T Wagner’s screenplay is chaotic and none too funny, while Reynolds lacks charm and Matheson looks embarrassed.

Also in the cast are Teck Holmes, Erik Estrada, Daniel Cosgrove, Deon Richmond, Alex Burns, Emily Rutherford, Paul Gleason, Curtis Armstrong, Jason Winer, Chris Owen, Tom Everett Scott, Edie McClurg, Joyce Brothers, Megan Gallagher, Lydia Hull, Michael Waltman, Michael Olowokandi, Chad Evans and Simon Helberg.

Reynolds: ‘It made me the party guy. I would walk into a bar and people would start lining up the shots. You could sum up my career at that point as a free shot at a bar. I know it affected me more than I’m revealing, because I know that I went years without even saying the words “Van Wilder”. Even now, when I say it, it’s a bit of a big moment for me.’

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 3007

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