When a film shoots a sequel without its original star and without its original director, the end result can’t be good. Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj lives up to that assertion, giving audiences more of a re-hashing of the original Van Wilder’s plot than a new story.
In a conference call with The Diamondback, lead actor Kal Penn – known for his roles in Malibu’s Most Wanted and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle – discussed why he originally took the role of Taj and the responsibility of executive producer on The Rise of Taj.
The Rise of Taj picks up four years after the original Van Wilder and follows Taj as he moves on to graduate school at his father’s alma mater, the fictional Camford University in England. In this film, Taj has grown as a character and now claims the proverbial Van Wilder title, Penn says.
Upon arriving at Camford, Taj thinks he is going to join his father’s former fraternity, the Fox and Hounds, but is denied admission due to a “typographical error” in his acceptance letter. He is instead sent to be the Resident Adviser at the Barn, a dorm full of campus castaways. Gethin (Anthony Cozens) is the nerdy kid; Sadie (Holly Davidson) is a larger-chested, foul-mouthed Cockney girl who no guy wants to date seriously; Seamus O’Toole (Glen Barry) is a whiskey-guzzling, rugby-playing Irishman; and Simon (Steven Rathman) is the shy kid who won’t speak. All the members of the Barn crew were also denied admission to the Fox and Hounds due to “typographical erorrs.”
The students all lack self-confidence and feel like outcasts – much like Taj did before he met Van in the series’ first installment. Taj takes it upon himself to follow Van’s teachings and make the group into the best fraternity on the campus, dubbing them the Cock and Bulls. To do this, they must beat the Fox and Hounds in the Hastings Cup, a series of academic, beer-drinking and athletic competitions. Memories of Revenge of the Nerds, anyone?
What follows is nearly the same plot as Van Wilder’s: Main character finds conflict with snobby fraternity and falls in love with his nemesis’ girlfriend, all while learning valuable life lessons and lifting the spirit of the underdog.
The formula worked in Van Wilder, but that movie – if you overlooked its’ glaring similarities to Revenge of the Nerds – was an original story. But The Rise of Taj is no more than Van Wilder with Kal Penn as the main character instead of Ryan Reynolds.
Still, the film doesn’t fail on every level. It’s evident that Penn is an actor who should be doing more then stereotypical comedic roles. He actually gives a good performance as Taj because he plays to the character’s quirkyness and not his ethnicity. In fact, the only thing overtly ethnic in Penn’s depiction of Taj is his fake Indian accent, which even Penn breaks a few times during the film.
Penn originally took the role because Taj was more than a stereotype, he says.
“Even though Taj had a racist name, he advanced the plot. He was integral. Without him, Van never would have graduated,” Penn said.
Penn also served as executive producer for The Rise of Taj, adding input into the humor and character development in the film, he says.
The supporting cast isn’t bad either – each character plays to his or her specific part and does it well. Saide is the most interesting character in Taj’s fraternity, as she gets some of the film’s best lines with her rapid and foul mouth Cockney-speak.
Balzac, Van’s dog, is the only other character besides Taj from the first Van Wilder to reprise his role. Again, the dog and his grossly engorged scrotum play into advancing the plot.
And the jokes, like the dog’s scrotum, are similar to what one would expect from a National Lampoon movie, as most center around sex and drinking. When Taj pimps out the Cock and Bulls’ living room, he adds a Miss Nude America pinball machine that makes some interesting noises, to say the least. The film mainly relies on low-grade humor, like when Taj tells Gethin to stand up straight because “a man looks more confident when he’s erect.”
But the funniest scene is when Taj is forced to recite an impromptu poetry reading in front of some famous Camford faculty and alumni. He strings together a random assortment of famous song lyrics, from Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” to Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” Shockingly, the crowd loves it, especially the esteemed Sir Wilfred, the event’s guest of honor – he compares Taj to the “rapper Eminem, whom [he] rather digs.”
Despite that scene, the biggest sign that the film isn’t up to snuff with its predecessor is its obvious absence of Reynolds, the original Van Wilder – he doesn’t even show up in a brief cameo. Reynolds’ influence is particularly felt, though, as Van sends Taj a welcome gift upon his arrival in England: A golf cart like the one Van used is waiting for Taj on the campus with the note, “May driving down the wrong side of the road lead you in the right path.”
Unfortunately for Penn, the wrong side of the road turns out to be the wrong path with The Rise of Taj.
Contact reporter Rudi Greenberg at greenbergdbk@gmail.com.
