MovieChat Forums > National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002) Discussion > Wants to be 'Ferris Bueller' or 'Animal ...

Wants to be 'Ferris Bueller' or 'Animal House'...

posted 15 years ago by mr_skandl
10 replies | jump to latest

... but fails miserably!!! Much too uneven. Maybe they should have hired John Hughes to inject some charm into the script. Saw this the first week it opened, and still want my money back. When I left the theatre, I told my girlfriend that they should have called this movie "John Hughes Didn't Write This".

Everyone is entitled to their opinion... and in mine, this film blows.

"The key is, you've got to be crazy to maintain your sanity"

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] yoenit 15 years ago

I can't help but wonder why you are posting now on the forum of a movie you saw 7 years ago and think that sucked.

[–] mr_skandl 15 years ago

After the passing of Mr. Hughes, I revisted a bunch of his masterpieces. Then I remembered being infuriated following the "Van Wilder" experience. So, I felt obligated to express sentiments regarding my distaste for the film. If you'll notice, the National Lampoon's franchise took a pretty hefty nose-dive when Hughes stopped writing for them, ie every straight to DVD clunker that has been released in the last ten years.

"The key is, you've got to be crazy to maintain your sanity"

[–] ribby45 15 years ago

mr skandl -

I only saw Van Wilder recently & I thought it was lovely - it's got a very humane message hiding under layers of gross-out stuff and subverts stereotypes nicely.

Whether it stands the test of time like John Hughes'(of blessed memory)little masterpieces, remains to be seen.

Ryan Reynolds was cracking, as well as easy on the eye. And I'm nearly 50.

Animal House is great. Ditto Ferris Bueller.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] jakeoff32 15 years ago

IMO; Animal House is a classic, Ferris Bueller is good but overrated, and Van Wilder falls somewhere in between, though closer to Animal House.

[–] erjw135 15 years ago

Unlike Ferris Beuller I found this one worth seeing again.

[–] Jerique 14 years ago

Yeah, you're entitled to your opinion. But you're trying to compare a college movie about someone who doesn't want to leave school and a high school movie about someone who doesn't want to go to school. Completely different stories.

Would Ryan Reynolds have made a good Ferris Bueller? Nope. Would Matthew Broderick made a good Van Wilder? Hell no! Are both films good in their own right? Yes.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a classic. Van Wilder feels timeless. Both movies are good for their audiences.

And I don't see any similarity between these movies and I don't see how you can say Van Wilder tries to be Ferris Bueller's Day off. It doesn't even come close to trying.

_____
Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push! — The Joker

[–] Prismark10 9 years ago

I think it wanted to be American Pie on campus.

It's that man again!!

[–] herschie 8 years ago

Animal House was "just right" when it came to the college humor. Van Wilder is a little over the top.