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Movies / On DVD / National Lampoon's Van Wilder
National Lampoon's Van Wilder

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National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)

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Reviews Counted:5

Fresh:2

Rotten:3

Average Rating:4.4/10

Consensus: A derivative gross-out comedy that's short on laughs.

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds, ABC’s “Two Guys and a Girl”) might be starting his seventh year at Coolidge College, but graduation is the furthest thing from his mind. Armed with a personal assistant... Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds, ABC’s “Two Guys and a Girl”) might be starting his seventh year at Coolidge College, but graduation is the furthest thing from his mind. Armed with a personal assistant and a coterie of admirers, Van has reached the status of living legend on campus, throwing bashes that make geeks popular, raise money for charity and generally “inspire the uninspired.” But when Van’s father refuses to pay any more of his son’s tuition bills, Van must turn to party planning for profit in order to continue living in under-graduate bliss, thereby becoming the subject of an exposé by disapproving school journalist Gwen Pearson (Tara Reid, Josie and the Pussycats, American Pie). What begins as a clash of wills, however, soon leads to unexpected romance as Van and Gwen both realize they have a lot to learn from each other. The only problem: Gwen’s self-obsessed, frat house boyfriend, Richard, who’s determined, at any cost, to put a stop to Van’s rule as campus king. In the tradition of Ferris Beuller’s Day Off and Rushmore, Van Wilder: Party Liaison brings us an intrepid, visionary hero with the brains and the bravado to change school as we know it. Outrageous, irreverent and absolutely charming, this winning campus comedy is all about the burden of facing real life…and the freedom that comes from not taking it too seriously. -- © 2002 Artisan Entertainment [More]

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Kal Penn, Tim Matheson

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Kal Penn, Tim Matheson, Daniel Cosgrove

Director: Walt Becker

Director: Walt Becker
Screenwriter: David Wagner, Brent Goldberg
Producer: Peter Abrams, Andrew Panay
Composer: David Lawrence
Studio: Artisan Entertainment

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Reviews for National Lampoon's Van Wilder

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1 - 6 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/02/02
Guardian [UK]
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Enthusiastically taking up the current teen movie concern with bodily functions, Walt Becker's film pushes all the demographically appropriate comic buttons.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
09/09/02
Simon Wardell
Simon Wardell
BBC
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/08/08
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
Variety
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N/R

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Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
04/06/02
CNN.com
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Laughter for me was such a physical impossibility during National Lampoon's Van Wilder that had I not been pledged to sit through the film, I would have lifted myself up by my bootstraps and fled.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
04/05/02
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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What's lacking is the sense of structure that might have made Van Wilder more than a meandering succession of random gags.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/04/02
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
New York Times
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For a film like this to work, the hero must be as charming as he is irrepressible, and Reynolds, star of the ABC series Two Guys and a Girl, fits the bill.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/01/02
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
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1 - 6 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for National Lampoon's Van Wilder

March 08, 2007: Yep, "Wild Hogs 2"
According to a pair of sources, director Walt Becker is all hot to get his "Wild Hogs" cast members back for a quick sequel. More...

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