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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Surround
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • 4 Teaser trailer
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Featurette
  • Animated menus
  • Music video - Bouncing Off The Walls - Sugarcult

Van Wilder: Party Liaison

Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 90 mins . MA15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Van Wilder is a student at Coolidge College and is about to enter his seventh year. The first impression may be that he has been there so long because he is a little slow in the study department, but the real reason he is still there is because he wants to be. The simple fact is that he loves the school and has no intention of leaving, the easiest way to achieve this is to fail to graduate. He enjoys a hero status within the school and thrives on the lifestyle. He is not your average jock or rebel though, he seems to maintain a balance, befriending everyone from jocks through to nerds, doing various deeds such as fundraising for the swim team and throwing killer parties.

He has come to the point where he needs an assistant and the list of applicants is huge. The final winner is Taj Mahal Badalandabad, an exchange student from India who has a burning ambition to learn from Van the finer points of lovemaking.

Gwen Pearson (Tara Reid) is a writer for the school paper and is asked by her editor to write a story on Van Wilder, a kind of profile piece. When she goes to meet him, he instantly tries to date her and she rejects his advances. When she overhears some students talking, she publishes the story with the second hand information and upon reading the story, Van agrees to give her an interview to give his side, and to get to know her better. Gwen already has a boyfriend so Van must try to win her over as only he can.

"Are you stalking me? Because that would be super!"

Meanwhile the threat of his father (Tim Matheson) stopping his tuition money supply is causing problems, Van must find a way to make some money so he can stay in school. After trying a few different ventures, including Topless Tutors, he discovers the best way to make a decent income is to become a party liaison. This is the perfect solution as he is a natural. He can guarantee a successful party and plenty of girls, two things most male college students crave.

All the standard ingredients associated with college movies are here, the breasts, the alcohol, the drug references, the cool guy meets the stunning blonde girl and of course, plenty of breasts. No I am not obsessed with breasts, far from it in fact, but it is a constant theme throughout this film, thankfully though it isn’t just done as an excuse to show them. This is different in many ways to the normal college movies - the thought of a student actually wanting to stay in school is a whole new concept, as is the fact that he neither fits into the popular jock or downtrodden geek categories. Van Wilder is played by Ryan Reynolds (2 Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place) and fans of the hit TV show who love his Berg character will be more than satisfied.

There are plenty of laughs throughout, although some of the sicker jokes are a little hard to stomach. It is, however, the main character of Van Wilder that makes the film, the fast humour of Reynolds in this role is very well suited and it would be hard to imagine anyone else playing the character. The musical soundtrack is also very well suited, much like American Pie and even Australian band The Living End get a guernsey with their hit Roll On.

Fans of college movies should enjoy this little effort, as will fans of the humour of Ryan Reynolds. The sick jokes are a little too much at times, but they are generally well placed and suit the film. The obsession with sex and in particular breasts is also excessive, but what would a college movie be without them? There are of course some memorable moments, the appearance of Paul Gleason, reliving his Breakfast Club days is one, the oversize testicles of Van’s dog is another and a nice cameo should also amuse viewers. It's all a matter of taste really and although many things in this film will offend, the end result is a funny film.

  Video
Contract

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and 16x9 enhanced, there is little to find fault with in this transfer. Picture is sharp throughout and detail is also very good. Colours are true and detailed and blacks are well saturated. Film artefacts and aliasing are hardly noticeable and grain is rarely an issue. The only minor item of concern was the occasional edge enhancement but nothing too major. There are sadly no subtitles supplied with this disc, but with reasonably clear diction from all concerned, the need is not really there.

  Audio
Contract

The solitary choice of soundtrack comes as an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround track, which is more than adequate. Dialogue is clear at all times and kept primarily across the front speakers. Separation is used well when needed, but this isn’t a film that requires too much in the way of directional effect. The rear speakers are used mainly for the terrific music and add greatly. There is no evidence of hiss or distortion, so overall it's a good soundtrack.

  Extras
Contract

There's not the most in the way of extras, but we do get a few, unlike in the US where they have a second disc to cope with them all. We do miss out on a lot compared to our US counterparts, but compared to a lot of releases, the extras provided are still reasonable.

Behind the Scenes Featurette
Running for a total of 3:46, this (very) mini featurette is made up of cast members and crew commenting on the three categories, About Van Wilder, How It All Began and Got Chemistry? Although short, this is fun and reasonably informative.

Trailers
Featured here is a Theatrical Trailer for Van Wilder along with Teaser Trailers for Can’t Hardly Wait, Joe Dirt, Not Another Teen Movie and Tomcats, anyone notice a theme?

Music Clip
Possibly the best extra provided, this is the video clip for Bouncing Off the Walls by Sugarcult. Running for 2:25, this is a good clip and features actors from the film.

  Overall  
Contract

Overall this is a great laugh and ably sits in the category of so many other college comedy films. In many aspects it is just the same old jokes recycled, but there are also a lot of new concepts thrown in, add that to the humour of Ryan Reynolds in the lead role and this is a worthy watch. Sadly the Region 4 release falls down badly compared to the US release, which includes a DD 5.1 track, subtitles and a ton of extras, but even taking that into account, fans of this genre shouldn’t be disappointed.


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      And I quote...
    "American Pie, breasts, enlarged dog testicles, more breasts, great music, throw in even more breasts for good measure and you are at a party thrown by Van Wilder!"
    - Adrian Turvey
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS305
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-29S55AT 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DE685
    • Speakers:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Surrounds:
          Sony SAVE815ED
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony SAVE815ED
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