NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VAN WILDER (2002)

The brain trust behind Lampoon's latest campus comedy tries very hard to recapture the toga!-toga!-toga! mayhem of Animal House, going so far as to cast Tim Matheson -- that film's charismatic hell-raiser, Otter -- as the father of Reynolds' eponymous rapscallion. Unfortunately, a kegload of wackiness combined with a thimbleful of wit just doesn't do the job. To be fair, Reynolds and Reid (as a budding journalist) acquit themselves admirably enough in the face of novice director Walt Becker's ham-fisted non-vision. But, ultimately, the only question left is why Artisan thought this stinker worthy of a two-disc release.

You Might Also Like

• Movie Review NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VAN WILDER (Apr 05, 2002) | Owen Gleiberman
• Review National Lampoon's Van Wilder (Apr 05, 2002) | Owen Gleiberman
• Hit List Scott Brown's Hit List | Scott Brown
• Monitor Monitor | Kate Ward