Today’s movie: National Lampoon’s Van Wilder

Am I too old to enjoy National Lampoon’s Van Wilder? Apparently not, since I laughed my ass off this afternoon as we were watching partymeister Ryan Reynolds and goddess/journalist Tara Reid get their groove on after defeating the evil frat boy Daniel Cosgrove. Seriously, the latest film from National Lampoon could have been titled Animal House: The Next Generation and while it doesn’t quite reach the heights of that classic, it’s better than any Lampoon film since the original Vacation. The original had Belushi and no one comes near his brilliance, but we do get Tim Matheson (Otter in the original) playing the father of our hero and Reid blows Karen Allen and Mary Louise Weller out of the water. And we get the dog and the jokes and pranks he’s in. Although some people might think better of eating beforehand.