VAN WILDER 2: THE RISE OF TAJ: DVD

SYNOPSIS:
Taj Mahal Badalandabad (Kal Penn) is an Indian exchange student, eager to replicate the lifestyle of campus party ace Van Wilder. With his bulldog Balzac, a golf buggy and an overload of confidence, he arrives in England as history teaching assistant, only to be sent to a dorm for losers by the egotistical and snobbish Earl of Grey Pipp Everetee (Daniel Percival). There he meets video game freak Simon (Steven Rathman), aggressive Seamus (Glen Barry), physics geek Gethin (Anthony Cozens) and cockney Sadie (Holly Davidson) with large breasts, and immediately sets about to change their fortunes. But not without some antagonism from Pipp whose lovely girlfriend Charlotte (Lauren Cohan) soon becomes the object of Taj's desire, as well as his supervisor.

Review by Louise Keller:
When we first meet Kal Penn's Taj on the plane on his way to his new British university, he joins the mile high club with a girl who has a thing for spices (he brings with him some home made Bombay hot sauce, which he liberally sprinkles all over himself). It's quite a funny opening, but after the credits, the rest of the film becomes far tamer, and has little of the innovation and crudeness of the original Van Wilder. This sequel suffers from an uninspired script and poor direction, with only Penn's charm to keep some semblance of entertainment as he leads a team of no-hopers in competition against a group of insufferable, snobbish aristocratic students.

It is hard to work out how Taj happens to be sharing a dorm with the boys that he teaches in history class, but there are many plot points that are equally confusing. The conflict between Taj and the snobbish Pipp (Daniel Percival) lacks conviction, and it is difficult to believe that the lovely Charlotte (Lauren Cohan) would ever agree to be Pipp's girlfriend. The romance that ensures between Taj and Charlotte is predictable but charming in an unbelievable way, as he woos her under Pipps nose. There's a beer skulling competition, a battle re-enactment with paint and an untimely visit by Taj's parents during a seduction scene. Repeating the overly-endowed bulldog joke falls flat and attempts at humour such as calling Pipp 'Poop' is tame to the extreme.

Van Wilder 2 is mindless entertainment that will appeal to teens looking for something to watch while having a few drinks.

Published June 28, 2007