Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj (2006)

Too much of everything

Excellent but underrated film

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I really can't figure out why anyone figured that there would be an audience for a sequel to "Van Wilder", considering that the original movie didn't exactly set the box office on fire, and was simply a bad movie. Whatever the reasons might be, we have this sequel, and it is abysmal. To be fair, not everything about it is terrible. The main character of the movie, Taj, is portrayed as a warm and likable fellow, and this appealing character is complimented by a amiable performance by Kal Penn. Apart from Taj, however, the movie is terrible. The movie is extremely predictable - I successfully predicted numerous gags and plot twists before they were actually executed on screen. The script is also bad when it comes to fleshing out the supporting characters. Taj's mates are barely constructed, and the main villain of the movie is just a retread of the standard campus jerk you've seen in other college movies before. Worst of all is the fact the movie isn't the least bit funny. Before making this movie, the filmmakers should have taken a refresher course at film school.

First off I must say I loved VW one, it is still one of my favorite movies. It was very funny, entertaining and Ryan Reynolds was just perfect. The acting was great and the Van Wilder character was unique but familiar. Now that starts me off on the first problem with "VW2:Rise of Taj" and that problem is that Taj just does not bode well as a primary character. And as much as I like Kal Penn he looked uncomfortable trying to maintain "Taj" and not become "Kumar" and not become "Van Wilder" himself. He seemed conflicted with this issue the entire film. Even his accent would stray in and out, at times sounding totally SoCal American. The plot itself was predictable from the second it started unfolding. You pretty much knew the gist of what was going to happen for the next 90 minutes based on the initial meeting of Taj and Pip (the antagonist) but really we don't watch these types of movies for their plot-twisting and high caliber story. We watch them because they are fun. Or in this case because we hope it is funny.That brings up the next problem with VW2. It was not all that much fun, especially not compared to VW1. And it was not all that funny. The first hour was pretty boring and choppy, and seemed comfused about where it wanted to go, even though we knew where it was going. It never really seems to be leading anywhere but in circles. But the problem is that while it is leading in circles, the jokes trying to hold it together are not very funny. They had so many chances to go in interesting directions but never did. They seemed to force it all together too quickly, as the movie oddly moves too slowly.I actually really liked some of the supporting case.... I really liked Lauren Cohen a lot. She was understated and strong at the same time, while doing her best to work within the limits of the script. The goofy cast of misfits turned cool are good, but are really underused by the writers and directors. One of the things that made VW1 so great was the use of secondary players and there was much more unexplored potential there.But then something happened towards the end of the film. You unexpectedly start to pull for the underdogs to win and you don't have to wait too long for that to happen. Everything buttons up at the end in a more entertaining way then you expect after the first half. A few decent gags work their way into the fold and you have no choice but to smile a little.You walk away feeling satisfied that the bad guy got what he deserved and all the good guys win. Which if the movie is that bad you generally don't care about at all. And that got me thinking that the movie overall was not as bad as it seemed.Yes VW2 is a pretty bad movie, but so are a lot of movies. It is not that bad if you don't compare it to VW1. If you go in expecting to see the original feeling that VW1 had you will be disappointed a lot..... if you take VW2 by itself, it is a silly movie that is not all that funny, but still has some redeeming qualities, and a few funny moments. I gave it a 5-of-10 as I would compare it to most middle of the road college comedy movies. Just don't go in expecting to see Van Wilder. This movie would have done better to drop the "Van Wilder 2" title altogether. It really is not VW2, it is a small secondary character in another movie with very few ties to the original. It would have been better to just toss in the VW association like they did and leave it off the title. I'm pretty sure Lampoon fans would have made the connection without VW being in the title. compare it to VW1 or it will pale in comparison....

I love Kal Penn especially if he does comedy. This Lampoons isn't as funny as the first Van Wilder but it is a good movie. I like the Van Wilder movies because they have the humor of American Pie without being too gross. Kal Penn is probably one of the most underrated Indian/Hindu actors currently. He is totally a funny guy but can also do drama roles as well like The Namesake. I love the English Bull dog with the enormous balls. There is some cute girls in this as well. The story line of this one is entertaining. I hate the Fox & Hounds Guy who plays Mr. Big Shot. Very predictable plot. I like that this movie has a nice ending. Taj's parent's are hilarious. I love the mother, she's too funny. This film is not a rip roaring comedy or the greatest film ever but it's good for entertainment and worth a watch if you like Kal Penn. Also, if you like this movie Harold and Kumar is even better. I can't wait till the new one comes out!

Having just seen this movie i have to say that i liked it better than the original. What i liked about it was that the jokes may have been sex related but like the first one they were mild and didn't seem to have to go over the top like the first one did. As an example the dog in the first that joke about cutting of his parts below was disgusting and should not of been allowed on film. In this film there was none of that it was just a casual teen story and nothing over the top. I also loved that they set the location in england which was also good as there are to many teen flicks set in the USA.If you love films like American pie and accepted then you will enjoy this.