Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (Van Wilder 2) (2006)

7% of critics liked it
(45 reviews)
47% of users liked it
(140,108 ratings)

The protégé of the most skilled mischief maker in college history sets his sights on England's prestigious Camden University to offer an informative course in advanced-level shenanigans in this sequel to the 2002 Ryan Reynolds hit that finds that film's co-star Kal Penn crossing the pond to realize… More The protégé of the most skilled mischief maker in college history sets his sights on England's prestigious Camden University to offer an informative course in advanced-level shenanigans in this sequel to the 2002 Ryan Reynolds hit that finds that film's co-star Kal Penn crossing the pond to realize his true party potential. Van Wilder's former assistant has learned the ways of the master, and now he's prepared to share his newfound knowledge with the stuffy students of the school known more for academia than rowdy mischief. Of course, by now Taj (Penn) knows that where there's a will there's a way, and there are plenty of fun-loving misfits at this esteemed institute of higher learning who are just looking for an excuse to ditch their studies and blow off a little steam by embracing their inner Van Wilder. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Mort Nathan
Written By: Brent Goldberg
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 1, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Mar 27, 2007
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

Reece Pendleton, Chicago Reader
This is shocking only for its tepidness; except for some raunchy language, it's ready-made for basic cable.
Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic
Penn is capable of so much more.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Everything old is old again in this rickety extension of 2002's already rickety Van Wilder.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
Taj plays like a very bad combination of Revenge of the Nerds and Harry Potter.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Britain and India face off in National Lampoon's Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj, a strained attempt to transplant the American campus comedy to more uptight shores.
Jason Anderson, Globe and Mail
Van Wilder 2's sense of numbing familiarity is not enhanced by director Mort Nathan's apparent unfamiliarity with the entire filmmaking process.
Jane Boursaw, Common Sense Media
Lame, horrid sequel is even worse than the first.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
Screw Tara Reid! Who needs her in this movie. We've got a cockney girl with huge knockers.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
prefers to dwell in deep direct-to-DVD juvenility.
Kam Williams, Mount Desert Islander
This tacky teensploit trades in inscrutable idioms and cockney accents likely to be lost on an American audience. Even the ethnic humor seems oddly inappropriate, with most of it directed at Taj's heritage.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Penn sports little of the squirrelly charm evidenced by the original Van Wilder star, Ryan Reynolds.
Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York
National Lampoon recycles countless collegiate comedies for this spin-off sequel.
Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
From haphazard editing to clueless cinematography to godawful acting to gaping plot holes to zero laughs to low production values, this sorry sequel has all the earmarks of your classic 'take the money and run' ripoff.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
...original star Ryan Reynolds wisely took a pass on coming back for more...
Scott Tobias, AV Club
Granted, it's still ****, but with a sweeter odor than usual.
Mark Palermo, Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
There was a hedonistic amorality and joyous celebration of privilege in the first Van Wilder that's missing from its sequel. That's fine with me. I hated that movie.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bethany M

Pretty funny.
Coxxie M

Im sorry i just... i JUST dont have the energy for this one.
KJ P

Wow! This movie is so bad, that if I had the chance to I would go back and wish I had never even seen it at all. Van Wilder 2, not having seen the first, is a complete disgrace, with absolutely no heart or any actual comedy to laugh at!
Arash X

Not for the squeamish
Brian D

Why!!!!!!!!
Dan S

May just be the worst movie I've ever seen.
Roy G

The question comes to mind: How do you make a Van Wilder movie without Van Wilder? The answer, after watching the end result, is you don't.
Steve K

Pretty much what you'd expect.
Fascade F

It was an okay attempt on Kal Penn's part to do a comedy and make it shine on his own. SEE IT AS A "FREEBIE" OR ON T.V.
Christopher H

Could never ever top Van Wilder 1, but was better than I thought it would be. Kal Penn proved he could hold a movie by himself. You can't top Ryan Reynolds though, sorry. Was some dirty, English fun.
Deb S

This is not a film that takes itself seriously and u shouldn't! It's kinda like a NATIONAL LAMPOONS movie. If u got nothing to do for the next 90 mins then watch this movie cause it has its funny moments.
Joseph E

Sucked!
Yinalí R

Very funny movie, nude shots and everything that is known by "frisky".
William G

I can list seven kinds of cancer more entertaining than this.
Ira Z

My heart goes out to Kel Pen for constantly being cast in awful, B-grade comedies. But, none the less, sorry Kal, but this movie utterly fails. I do hope you finally get your break soon.
Barry L

I dont beleive I wasted an hour and a half of my life on this.....Such a poor follow up. And if you do watch it, not all English are as pompous.
Nate H

Grotesquely atrocious.