National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Mort Nathan |
Written by | David Drew Gallagher |
Produced by | Peter Abrams Michelle Fox Robert L. Levy Kal Penn Andrew Panay Elie Samaha Natan Zahavi |
Starring | Kal Penn |
Cinematography | Hubert Taczanowski |
Edited by | John Axness Sherwood Jones |
Music by | Robert Folk |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | MGM Distribution Co. |
Release date | December 1, 2006 |
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $6.1 million [1] |
National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (credited as National Lampoon's Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj in the film) is a 2006 sequel to the 2002 comedy National Lampoon's Van Wilder starring Kal Penn. Despite the film's title, Ryan Reynolds does not reprise the role of Van Wilder, and the character is absent from the film.
Taj Badalandabad, the personal assistant to local hero Van Wilder, has just graduated Coolidge College and is now on his way to England's Camford University. Following in the footsteps of his father — he plans not only to obtain a degree, but also to become a member of the exclusive campus Fraternal Guild, the Fox and Hounds. There Taj hopes he to become the next generation of Badalandabads to be aptly nicknamed the "Sultan of Snatch".
However, when Taj arrives at Camford, he is told by Pip Everett, the Earl of Grey, the arrogant leader of the Fox and Hounds, that there had been a mistake and he has actually not been accepted into the Fraternal Guild. Heartbroken, Taj, with his faithful bulldog Ballzac in tow, instead takes the only housing opening available on campus and becomes the "Head of House" for a group of student misfits — Sadie, a gorgeous but foul-mouthed Cockney girl; Seamus, an English-hating Irishman; Gethin, a nerd; and Simon, a kid who rarely talks.
With this band of misfits, Taj considers what Van Wilder would do in the same situation, and in classic "Van" fashion he takes on the challenge to turn the house around. At the campus Society Inaugural Ball, Taj announces to the pompous crowd that he and his housemates are starting their own exclusive society — the Cock and Bulls. In addition, they declare that they will compete in the venerable Hastings Cup, a series of campus academic events and athletic competitions.
Also, as part of his duties, Taj finds out that he will be a history teacher to his new friends and that his teaching supervisor will be Charlotte Higginson, an English beauty who just happens to be dating Pip Everett. Taj is instantly attracted to her. Taj and Charlotte clash over his unconventional teaching methods until she points out that his new friends are in danger of flunking out of school because their grades are so low. Taj takes Charlotte's challenge to heart and starts turning them around — their grades as well as their self-esteem.
Meanwhile, much to the fury of Pip Everett, not only are the Cock and Bulls catching up to the Fox and Hounds in the Hastings Cup, but Taj and Charlotte are spending a lot of time together. Pip sets out to get rid of Taj by attempting to humiliate him at the Royal Literary Ball and later sabotaging Ballzac at the Camford Dog Show, but both backfire and Pip ends up the one embarrassed. Much to Pip's dismay, Taj and Charlotte are clearly falling in love and the Cock and Bulls are moving into a close second behind the Fox and Hounds.
Pip sets up Taj and the Cock and Bulls by planting stolen test exams in their house. The plan works temporarily, and they are about to get expelled until Taj steps up and takes the blame for the theft — on the condition that his team are allowed to stay in school. The Provost agrees to the terms, and Taj has to leave Camford. Angst-ridden, Charlotte tells him she never wants to see him again.
The Cock and Bulls are now left to compete in the final event of the Hastings Cup without their courageous leader. But when Charlotte finds evidence that proves Taj's innocence, she and Taj rush to the Hastings Cup, just in time for him to compete against Pip in the final event — fencing. An angry and vengeful Pip makes sure that the fencing match degenerates into an all-out sword fight, but in the end, Taj defeats him and the Cock and Bulls win the Hastings Cup. Pip gets expelled for planting the exams while Taj and Charlotte happily begin a new life together.
In November 2006, Kal Penn and musicians Art Alexakis of Everclear and Jonny Dubowsky of Jonny Lives! toured college campuses, radio and television stations across the country promoting the film. A month-long 21-date Van Wilder Rock Tour headlined by Everclear and Jonny Lives!, started in January 2007 and ran through the end of February. The tour promoted the film and its soundtrack. [2]
The film was not a hit with either critics or audiences. It earned just $2.3 million in its opening US weekend. [1] On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 7% rating based on reviews from 44 critics, with the site's consensus stating: "A low-brow comedy, minus the comedy". [3] On Metacritic it has a score of 21% based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [4] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C" on scale of A to F. [5]
Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote: "The four-years-in-the-making, badly recycled (not to mention awful) sequel might stain the honor of the Lampoon label if it hadn't already produced several even worse films". [6]
Despite the sequel's poor critical reception and modest box-office success, a third Van Wilder film, National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year , was shot in 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. It was released straight to DVD on June 2, 2009, with mixed reviews. [7]
Tim Matheson is an American actor. Some of his best-known acting roles include the title character of the 1960s animated Jonny Quest TV series, Eric "Otter" Stratton in the 1978 comedy film National Lampoon's Animal House, and the recurring role of Vice President John Hoynes in the 2000s NBC drama The West Wing, which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. As of 2023, he is one of two surviving main cast members from Bonanza, next to Mitch Vogel.
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle is a 2004 American buddy stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner, written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and starring John Cho, Kal Penn, and Neil Patrick Harris. The first installment in the Harold & Kumar franchise, the film follows Harold Lee (Cho) and Kumar Patel (Penn) on their adventure to a White Castle restaurant after smoking marijuana.
Kalpen Suresh Modi, known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. As an actor he is known as Lawrence Kutner on the television program House, White House staffer Seth Wright on Designated Survivor, and Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar film series. He is also recognized for his performance in the film The Namesake. Penn once taught at the University of Pennsylvania in the Cinema Studies Program as a visiting lecturer.
National Lampoon's Van Wilder is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Walt Becker and written by Brent Goldberg and David T. Wagner.
Walter William Becker is an American filmmaker and novelist, whose directorial credits include the films Van Wilder, Wild Hogs, and Old Dogs.
Starlight Mints were an American indie pop band from Norman, Oklahoma, United States. The band was formed in the 1990s and released four albums during the 2000s, after which they disbanded. Their last lineup consisted of Allan Vest, Andy Nunez (drums), Marian Love Nunez (keyboard), Ryan Lindsey (keyboards/guitar) and Javier Gonzales (bass). Five previous members contributed to their sound on violin, cello, bass, voice, and drums.
Hubert Taczanowski is a US and UK-based motion picture cinematographer.
Taj may refer to:
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is a 2008 American buddy stoner comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. The sequel to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), it is the second installment in the Harold & Kumar franchise, and stars John Cho, Kal Penn, and Neil Patrick Harris. The film follows Harold Lee (Cho) and Kumar Patel (Penn) as their planned trip to Amsterdam is derailed after being wrongly imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story. The film stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis as the title characters, with Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, Beau Garrett, Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne in supporting roles. The plot follows the Fantastic Four as they confront, and later ally with, the Silver Surfer to save Earth from Galactus.
The Fox and the Hound 2 is a 2006 American animated direct-to-video buddy comedy drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Disneytoon Studios, and an intermediate follow-up to the 1981 Walt Disney Animation Studios film The Fox and the Hound. The film takes place during the youth of Tod and Copper, before the events of the later half of the first film. The plot of The Fox and the Hound 2 involves Copper being tempted to join a band of singing stray dogs called "The Singin' Strays", thus threatening his friendship with Tod. The film was directed by Jim Kammerud and features the voices of Reba McEntire and Patrick Swayze. The film had an official soundtrack album released on November 21, 2006. The film was released on December 12, 2006 and received generally negative reviews, with critics calling it a pale imitation of its predecessor.
Ashly Rae is a Scottish former model and actress. She is a businesswoman and entrepreneur who launched positive fashion brand elswear in April 2022.
David Hopkins is an Irish singer-songwriter and producer, originally from Dublin, Ireland and currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. He was the original keyboardist for Irish alternative rock group LiR. Hopkins has produced music featuring Kacey Musgraves, Mark Stoermer, Damien Rice, and more.
FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue is a 1998 American animated fantasy adventure film. It is a direct-to-video sequel to FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). It was produced by Wild Brain Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment through the CBS/Fox Video Label. It was directed by Phil Robinson & Dave Marshall and written by Chris Fink and Richard Tulloch. None of the actors from the first movie reprise their roles, the film features a new voice cast, including Laura Erlich, Harry Joseph, Gary Martin, Matt K. Miller, Digory Oaks and Westin Peace.
Adam Sinclair is a Scottish film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Jason Jackson in Boyz Unlimited and starred in the television series Mile High and has appeared in supporting roles in films like Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj.
Harold & Kumar is the name of a series of American films created by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. Beginning with Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), and followed by Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) and A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), the films star John Cho, Kal Penn, and Neil Patrick Harris.
National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year is a 2009 American comedy film and the third installment in the Van Wilder series. Serving as a prequel to the original Van Wilder film, it was directed by Harvey Glazer and released direct-to-DVD. The movie stars Jonathan Bennett as the eponymous Van Wilder during his early college years, alongside Kristin Cavallari, Jerry Shea, and Steve Talley.
Amber and Green is an album by David Hopkins, released in 2005. It was self produced. All songs were written by David Hopkins. Strings and synths were arranged by David Hopkins.
The 2018 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC season was the club's nineteenth season of existence, and their eighth consecutive season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of American soccer. Pittsburgh also competed in the U.S. Open Cup. The season covered the period from October 15, 2017 to the beginning of the 2019 USL season.