National Lampoon's Van Wilder - R\nStarring: Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid\nDirected by: Walt Becker\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nThe National Lampoon moniker is meant to elicit memories of great comedies past. "Animal House" and the first three "Vacation" flicks rank as some of the funniest comedies ever produced. Their latest effort, "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" is funny, but not to the extent their previous achievements were.\nRyan Reynolds (star of ABC's fortunately defunct "Two Guys and a Girl") plays the titular "big man on campus." He's in his seventh year of undergrad at fictional Coolidge College, that is until his father (played by National Lampoon alum Tim "Otter" Matheson) refuses to pay any more of his tuition bills. \nVan finds a way to keep responsibility at bay by turning his hard-partying lifestyle into a lucrative business -- planning parties for socially inept dweebs yearning to get laid and those who want to have an all-around good time. In doing so, he becomes fodder for an expose by up-and-coming collegiate journalist Gwen Pearson (Tara Reid). The two initially bump heads, but as is common in the world of cinema, tension between male and female leads inevitably to the bumping of uglies. But there's a hitch: Gwen has a stereotypical frat rat of a boyfriend named Richard (Daniel Cosgrove), who's determined to put a kibosh on Van's seven-year reign as campus king.\nReynolds does wonders in the role of Wilder. He makes the flick work through subtle charm and wry wit -- seemingly channeling an amusing hybrid of the work churned out by Chevy Chase in "Caddyshack" and Jason Lee in "Mallrats." I wish the same could be said for Reid, while she's easy on the eyes, her acting is piss-poor.\nIs "Van Wilder" a great movie? No. Essentially, it's an hour and a half barrage of truly base dick and fart jokes (explosive diarrhea, projectile vomiting and bulldog ejaculate are all played for laughs), but admittedly, I found this stuff funny. "Van Wilder," while coarse, kept me entertained, and as such, it's well worth catching at matinee price.\n
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