NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VAN WILDER
The National Lampoon movie brand name is back with a vengeance after almost a decade in mothballs. Like the movie that started it all, Animal House, Van Wilder is set at a college and is filled with the kind of gross-out humour you expect (and some you don’t) from National Lampoon, but it also has a lot of heart. Van Wilder is a good guy, and as played by the Canadian-born Ryan Reynolds is the most likeable lead in a Lampoon movie to date. The film is stuffed with questionable sight gags, and pooh jokes that will make 14 year-old boys laugh hysterically, but it is Reynold’s charismatic performance that really sells this piece. Without him this would be a much lesser movie, but luckily he’s here and his performance turns Van Wilder into one of the funniest films to come down the pike in a while. Look for cameos by Erik Estrada and Animal House alum Tim Matheson.
