Director:
Mort Nathan
Starring:
Kal Penn ………. Taj Mahal Badalandabad
Lauren Cohan ………. Charlotte Higginson
Daniel Percival ………. Pipp Everett, the Earl of Grey
Glen Barry ………. Seamus O’Toole
Anthony Cozens ………. Gethin
Steven Rathman ………. Simon
Holly Davidson ………. Sadie
The Movie
The “National Lampoon” name attached to comedies used to be mean something. It used to mean that you were going to watch a great comedy. Maybe a little risque, but nothing over the top. You still knew it would be funny, though. However, that was back in the days of Chevy Chase and his Vacation series. Since then the “National Lampoon” has gone off the deep end. It gets thrown around to every rude and crude “teenage” comedy that has a couple of naked women running around in it.
Basically, the big movie companies hope to use the “National Lampoon” name to make money off of certain movies that should never see the light of day, even on DVD. Sometimes the movie companies pull the “double feature” and make a sequel to a minor “hit” movie with the “National Lampoon” name and throw it out to the theaters to try and make money off of two names; the original movie and “National Lampoon”. That’s the category that Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj falls into.
Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj is the sequel to the minor “hit” Van Wilder, which got released in 2002 and starred Ryan Reynolds as “Van Wilder” along with Tara Reid. This sequel doesn’t have any of the aforementioned people or characters. Instead it focuses on the protege of “Van Wilder” from the first film, Taj Badalandabad (Kal Penn). Taj has since graduated college and is now going to graduate school at the prestigious Cambridge University in England. Of course, he has his trusty sidekick in the form his English bulldog, Balzac, along for the ride. He also meets some new friends who have been pushed around by a snotty elitist fraternity at Cambridge. It’s Taj’s job to teach these guys a lesson they will never forget.
Basically, the plot for this movie is take Revenge of the Nerds and set it in England. Of course, they also add some American Pie stunts to raise the “gross-out” factor and to laugh at, of course. But really the only original thing in this movie is the English setting.
The main problem with this movie is that’s a sequel to a minor “hit” movie without its top “star”. Kal Penn was a breakout star in the first movie, but he isn’t ready to carry an entire movie by himself. The reason Van Wilder was a success was because of Ryan Reynolds. He was “Van Wilder” and made everyone in that movie better, including Kal Penn. Kal Penn and Taj try to live up to the “Van Wilder” reputation, but they can’t live up to their mentor. The rest of the movie is filled with relative unknowns. Most have British accents, which is the one plus for this movie. Women with British accents are hotter than they would be with “American” accents.
The one thing that you can usually count on in “National Lampoon” movies like this one is a lot of sex or at least hints at sex. Honestly, there is not much here. There a few good shots of women’s breasts, but for the most part this movie is tame compared to other movies with the same name in front of it. They try to make the movie more “unrated” by adding some “gross-out” moments, but as I mentioned we have seen this all before, in some form or another, in the American Pie series.
What we have here is a movie that attempts to cash in on two names without living up to either name properly. The only original aspect to this movie is the location and perhaps the only reason you should watch this is for the hot English accents from the women. In the end, though, you are better off watching Revenge of the Nerds, any of the first three American Pie movies, or the original Van Wilder. Kal Penn tries to follow in Ryan Reynold’s footsteps, but it just doesn’t work that well. He is ruder and cruder, but is not “Van Wilderer”.
The Video:
The video is given in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen color. Not bad video quality here. It’s pretty good actually. The sets look like England and transfer to DVD is better than most. This is the second time this movie is in front of viewers, though, so they had time to fix whatever visual problems they might have had in the theatrical release.
The Audio:
The audio included is available in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English and Spanish as well. No problems real problems here either. There is not much to listen to, though. Not a soundtrack that you will probably want to go out and get as soon as you can.
The Extras:
“Union Jack-Offs: The Making of The Rise of Taj” Featurette–
This is a pretty good featurette with lots of “behind-the-scenes” stuff. It gives away a lot of secrets in the movie. Some stuff I didn’t want to know, like the “boob double”. That’s just wrong. They also really try to sell Taj as the “lead character”, but I’m still not buying it.
“On Set in Romania: Kal Pen Tours ‘The Barn'” Featurette–
Kal Penn takes you on a tour of the set. He introduces to various cast and crew and all of the “behind-the-scenes” stuff. This is fairly interesting, but nothing to watch twice. The most interesting part is that they actually shot part of this movie in England and the other part in Romania. Hence, the name of this featurette. Funny thing here is that Kal and the director actually make fun of themselves and this sequel. Good sports.
Deleted Scenes–
The usual stuff here. There is nothing that was cut from the movie that you have to go watch. These scenes honestly don’t make the movie better or worse, if they were added. That could be considered a good thing, since you won’t miss anything but yet the movie is not longer than it should be.
Gag Reel–
Your typical stuff here. It’s really stuff they think is funny, but really isn’t for the most part. Although, hearing Kal Penn do his lines WITHOUT the accent is pretty funny. At times, this is actually funnier than the movie. They should have stuck with these “mistakes” to make it really “UNRATED”.
Music Videos–
There are two music videos that feature songs from the movie. One is called “Get Steady” by Jonny Lives!. The other is called “Heads Will Roll” by Marion Raven. I suppose they fit the movie, but not great songs by any definition of the word. The videos aren’t original either, which definitely fit the movie. Marion is a little vixen, though.
I can’t really recommend a purchase of this DVD, even for fans of the original movie. You are far better off getting that DVD and watching it. Even fans of Kal Penn will probably won’t to pass as well. He is the “star” of the movie, but he isn’t ready to carry this movie to something greater. However, if you liked the first movie and liked any of the original American Pie movies, then this would be a decent rental if nothing else is available. Also, if you like women with ample assets AND English accents, this is the movie for you! Still there are better movies out there that do the same thing as Van Wilder 2.
