Review of Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj

I don't think anyone will argue that this is the basic formula movie. New guy takes girl away from snotty rich kid. That works okay. In fact, the character of the lead is well done. He is rather likable and believable (for this sort of circus atmosphere), and has the impish likability of Cary Grant mixed with the very caring and concerned character of a James Stewart. The gags are juvenile, but okay. Nothing really bad. Certainly better than most of National Lampoon's bombs. Now the bad news. The idea behind the movie is lame and trite. We have a character who teaches students to throw History books away because they were written long ago. That may work for Science, Math, or certain subjects, but History is something that really becomes bad when rewritten, by definition. We already have people wanting to rewrite History, and in a hundred years, don't be surprised to see History books portray Manson as an idol, Jesus as a guy who had babies with Mary Magdeline, and Moses as a myth. Yes, some people already believe in these crocks because of people who would ban History books. That said, it goes for okay cheap entertainment that when your friends make you sit through it, you won't feel very bad.