"Van Wilder" is your typical, everyday, gross-out, love story...what? I didn't realize those words could be used together in a sentence until now.

In his seventh year at college, Wilder (Ryan Reynolds) has everything...the girls, the pimping dorm room, an assistant Taj (Kal Penn), and everyone wanting to be him...he also throws the best parties around! When a reporter Gwen (Tara Reid) writes an article about the "legend" that be Van Wilder, he suddenly realizes that he doesn't really know what he wants in life and maybe the reason he is still in college is that he just might be afraid to graduate. Wilder must come to terms with his fear, fall for the girl, and try and graduate.

"Van Wilder" is not afraid of being unrated. Being a total gross-out flick you will hear plenty of farts, sex jokes, and eating of nastiness. You know, there is only so much that you can take of fart jokes...and it is hard to do anything much different than what we have seen before. But you never would have expected them to be paired up with a love story. It is just a weird combination of love...sex...farting...and eating.

Thankfully Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, and Kal Penn are great. Tara is her normal dumb self, and she fits the role...Ryan is awesome, crude, and loveable...Kal is just as funny as ever. "Van Wilder" thankfully has a great cast that can continue to provide us enough laughs to get us through.

Sure "Van Wilder" is not an amazing movie. It was most definitely not for everyone as some of the humor is absolutely raunchy. There are times that it is just plain wrong, but indeed funny. I had a great time sitting, enjoying several laughs, and not worrying about taking anything away from it.

The DVD

Video:

I hate to get started like this...but ouch, this one hurts. Right from the beginning the colors seem way off as they are a bit warm, but the saturation is really what looks wrong. On top of that, nothing pops or gives great detail. There is grain and most buildings, landscapes, and people look flat. There is even some artifacting going on. Then the flesh tones just come across looking like a plastic doll. I honestly can't say anything positive that would make you want to buy this as an upgraded video package because you might as well be watching the upconverted DVD.

Sound:

Here we get a 7.1 PCM Track and a 5.1 Doldby Digital EX track. I honestly don't know why they picked "Van Wilder" to add a 7.1 track to but hey, I guess it is a good sign right? Surprisingly there are quite a few good surrounds throughout the film. Each scene is filled with great use of our rear speakers as people talk, things move, and cars go by. The dialogue here is very even with only a few scenes that were a little quiet. On top of that the soundtrack is great and keeps the movie going. Overall a fantastic audio package that does not disappoint.

Extras:

Drunken Idiot Kommentary: Wow, don't watch this one...here we get some unnamed people playing drinking games and mumbling the entire way through. It is awful, and I honestly didn't laugh once.

Party Legends, Pledges and "Bullies": This is our behind the scenes look at the making of "Van Wilder." Here cast and crew speak out, talk about experiences, and dive deep into some of your favorite gross-outs.

Ultimate Party Guide: Here one of the nerds in the film (Jason Winer) brings us through several steps in throwing the ultimate party.

Gwen-ezuma's Revenge: Daniel Cosgrove (Richard Bogg) talks about Colon Blow and it's effects, also we learn about poop, farting, and creating the sounds.

Testicles of the Animal Kingdom: Yep, a quiz about testicles.

Write that Down: Sayings from the film to write down and never ever forget.

Blu-Book Exam: Another exam kinda like the game "Scene It" but boring.

Sugarcult "Bounce off the Walls" music Video.

Deleted Scenes: Eh, no good...not fun to watch.

Outtakes: A couple laughs here and there.

Burly T.V. Specials: "Half Baked," "Imposter," and "Movie Junky" T.V. shows that are about or based off of "Van Wilder."

Comedy Central's "Reel Comedy": Van Wilder: Comedy Central special about "Van Wilder."

Finally we do get the Bookmark feature that allows you to bookmark your favorite scene.

Final Thoughts:

So, "Van Wilder" is not the best movie in the world. It is definitely worth watching if you enjoy teen gross-out comedies. The video is awful and the sound is great! The features are packed full, but boring. If you don't own this then you might justify the purchase only if you love the film. Everyone else just Rent it for the laughs, or if you already own it on DVD then stay away.