Product Details

• Format: Widescreen, Color, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 3.0)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301964160
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,083 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (Unrated Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The National Lampoon brand has always had very little to do with the movies it has graced. Even the not-so-bad Chevy Chase Vacation entries didn't really need the imprimatur of the famous satire magazine that had its heyday about 30 years ago: They pretty much became a brand in and of themselves. The same goes for the Van Wilder movies, which we probably haven't seen the last of. Even though Ryan Reynolds, who originated the title character in 2002 doesn't appear, his lowbrow, good-natured goofball spirit remains. The star this time is the eminently likeable Kal Penn, who made a big splash in 2004's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and was Van Wilder's dorky sidekick Taj Mahal Badalandabad in the first movie. Here he displays more of his mentor's glib confidence, maturing into a sex-crazed, fun-loving grad student roaming the hallowed halls of England's (fake) Camford University. The comic situations he encounters there are simply a pretext for the typical sex, flatulence, beer-drinking, and class-division jokes you'd expect. Most of them come off well, thanks to Penn's comic aplomb, rubbery versatility and the rivalry he induces between the geeky misfit gang he ends up leading, and the snooty, upper-class Fox and Hound fraternity that clearly has to be given its lowbrow do. The battle for the pretty girl (Lauren Cohan, in truly good sport mode) who happens to be the property of super-twit Pipp Everett, the Earl of Grey, ends in predictable fashion, as does the rise of Taj's minions as bearers of the torch for the next Van Wilder, whether Van Wilder appears in it or not. --Ted Fry

Beyond Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj

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Stills from Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj

Product Description

Ruder, cruder, and even wilder than its predecessor, National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj is a balls-out campus comedy filled with nonstop laughs and sexy student bodies!

Having learned the ways of women from his legendary mentor, Taj Badalandabad (Kal Penn) sets out to study abroad (or two) at England's prestigious Camford University. But he and his bottom-heavy bulldog, Balzac, are quickly rebuffed by the elitist members of Camford's top fraternity. So with the help of a few new friends?and a bold new attitude?Taj plans to teach the school snobs a lesson they'll never forget!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The rise of Taj is the fall of Van Wilder, Just not that good, December 3, 2006

By 

Wiseguy 945 (Cedar Rapids, IA) - See all my reviews

Van Wilder was one of those comedy movies that had some over the top humor that was crazy and often really childishly stupid, but that is what made it a great comedy classic. Of course, the studio went back to the well to cash in on Van Wilder's cult following by makeing Van Wilder 2, The rise of Taj. And getting Kal Penn back to revive the role of Taj gave them what they thought was a green light to bring Van Wilder back to the big screen. But, they should have went strait to DVD because now they will never sell one after a few brave souls (like me) wasted my money to see this in theaters. Just not funny, and the story line was thin, and what Happened to Taj's girl from the end of the last movie, and this is just a hint at the problems.
The story, if you haven't figured it out, is based around Taj, the secretary/understudy of Van. Well, I guess Taj graduated from Coolidge and is now going to Camford in England to get a Doctorate and work as a teaching assistant, following in his fathers footsteps. Well, He doesn't make the "fox and hounds" fraternity, so he makes due with the characters he meets at the place he was sent to "the Barn" And, All of these people are "loosers", and Taj takes them on as his new Fraternity naming themselve "[...]". Of course, in revenge of the nerd style, the [...] are taking on the Fox and Hounds (as well as other Fraternities) in a campus competition. As we soon see, the gang of loosers are actually brilliant in their own ways (and the woman of the gang is smoking hot, does not fit the nerd role anyway). Taj, as van wilder did, falls in love with the woman that is dating their arch rivals. And the ending is the same too, Taj gets the girl and the team wins. They might as well have called this movie Revenge of the Nerds, because the overall story line was the same, with just a few similarities to Van Wilder. The biggest change to this movie....ITS NOT FUNNY. Save your money, rent this one when it comes out if you must see it, or sucker a friend to rent it for you. Best if you can share this agony with someone else.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie, April 10, 2011

By 

Mireille - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (Unrated Edition) (DVD)

This movie was funny, shipped fast and was worth the wait. I couldnt find it in stores and my original copy was damaged. Great product!

3.0 out of 5 stars Kumar Goes To England, June 19, 2010

By 

Del Keyes "Elaborate Chattering Nut" (In The Middle of the Sunshine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Van Wilder - The Rise of Taj (DVD)

National Lampoon, or more specifically post-1990 National Lampoon, is usually synonymous with 'crap'. Therefore, any post-1990 movie associated with the name is treated with the lowest of expectations. Somehow I guess my low expectations were exceeded, or maybe the planets were aligned or I went crazy, because "Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj" wasn't that horrible. A post-1990 National Lampoon movie...not that bad? Bizarre. To be fair, the first "Van Wilder" wasn't bad either, but since this is the "Short Circuit 2" of sequels (considering both movies had the main lead being replaced with Indian sidekicks), it could've gone downhill at the first minute. But it does have a few pluses.

Kal Penn as Taj Badagaddadavida is a pretty likable character. He may not have the screen presence and confidence as Ryan Reynolds (at all), but unlike characters from certain Lampoon movies, he mostly cared about a ragtags group of losers instead of his groin. The film does have are pretty competent characters as well, except for the outrageously racist and villainous upperclassman. Plot-wise, it's like "Animal House" in Europe, where Taj was transferred to a prestigious British university, but then the rich upperclassjerks made him bunk on the House of scalawags and it's up to him to make the House cool and have his team rise up from the higher-ups in the form of a competition rally. The losers consists of Harry Potter, a hooker, an Irish Stereotype, and a gamer who does and says nothing, and though cliche as they are, I got nothing against them. They are concerned about their well-being and just wants to step-up instead of randomly going to parties and do stupid things; okay, Taj influenced them to eventually do those things, but they didn't fool themselves too much. Taj also met a highly-acadmeic love-interest who doesn't appreciate his unorthodox ways of helping his peers, but quickly admires him; she was way too easy to fall for him after just one day and a field trip, but at least she tried to make herself interesting rather than another ditz or whiner.

This is still a National Lampoon movie, so it does have all the annoying vulgar elements like a guy sitting on poo, dog 'sauce' spewing on the audience, embarrassing sexual overtones, girls obsessed with the act of whoopee, and Balzac the Bulldog's trademark massive marbles. Gross and humorless as they may be, at least the movie was tamed on these regards (although it might be due to watching the rated version). Otherwise, I was pretty okay with "Rise of Taj". It's an average underdog tale with little ill will to speak of.