By Hubert VigillaSenior Staff Writer
The seven-year senior is nothing out of the ordinary, especiallyat SDSU. Everyone knows one, some people are one or are destined tobecome one and now there’s another National Lampoon’s movie aboutone.
Van Wilder is director Walt Becker’s second film and draws itsinspiration from movies like Animal House, Fast Times at RidgemontHigh and even a certain Capra Yuletide favorite.
“It sounds kind of weird, but it has this sort of It’s a WonderfulLife feel to it,” Becker said. “Something about that vibe drew mein.”
Ryan Reynolds, best known for playing Berg on ABC’s Two Guys and aGirl, plays the film’s title character, a charismatic collegiateGeorge Bailey and seven-year college senior whose father decides tostop supporting him financially. Tara Reid co-stars as a collegejournalist covering Van’s money-raising exploits ranging from atopless tutors service to party liaison.
“I knew a guy who was like Van,” Becker said of his days as a UCLAundergrad. “When I just transferred inI was 19. This guy must have been 33 or something. He graduated afterI’d already left, and I was there for five and a half years.”
Becker started doing films around age 9 with friend and OrangeCounty screenwriter Michael White. “We’d write these little scriptsand cast the kids in our neighborhood Friday, shoot it on Saturday,edit on Saturday night and we’d show it to a bunch of families onSunday.”
His directorial debut came in the form of a comedy he wroteentitled Buying the Cow. “It’s really hard because they only want tohire someone who’s already directed a movie to direct a movie. Thenhow do you get to direct a movie if you never have?”
After having his script initially passed over, Becker’s heifer hada happy accident. “The head of the studio was flying to London and heasked for the pile of scripts that the studio wanted to do. Anassistant had somehow screwed up and put Buying the Cow in the wrongpile. The studio head finished the script and said, ‘We have to makethis movie.’ “
It was while making Buying the Cow that
Becker met Reynolds. The two hit it off and developed an easygoingworking atmosphere. “It’s more like friends playing than just makinga movie,” Becker said. “Only difference is you’re getting paid forit.
“I told producers going into Van Wilder that if I couldn’t getRyan Reynolds, I wouldn’t do the movie. I knew he was the only guywho could pull the character of Van off,” Becker said. “I thinkthere’s a lot of great young actors but none his age who have hiscomic ability and charm.
“Wealways joke around that he’s always got his proverbial ass shot in mymovies,” Becker laughed. “We’ve decided that in any movie we do hisbutt has to make a cameo somewhere, kind of like Alfred Hitchcock.”
Coupled with Reynolds’ comic charm and Hitchcockian ass, VanWilder has its share of gross-out gags, two involving pastries andprotein shakes. “They were like fantasy pranks I had. I thought, ‘IfI could go back again and do things more harshly, how would I dothem?’ “
The Becker and Reynolds duo may be together again relatively soonas plans for a sequel to Van Wilder are already in the works.
“It is kind of odd considering the movie
hasn’t come out yet,” Becker laughed. “I’m not totally sure aboutthe storyline, but I’m pretty sure Van’s going to decide to go tograd school.”
Will audiences be getting more Van, more cream-altered eclairs andmore of Ryan Reynolds’ ass?
Only time (and the box office) will tell.
–Van Wilder opens April 5. Visithttp://nationallampoon.com/vanwilder for the film’s official Website.
