Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009 Video) User Reviews

This imitation of the original formula doesn't taste as good.

[SeriousJest · 4/10 · 6 October 2012]

This movie tries to follow the format of the original film. Thus, there are T&A galore, raunchy humor, bizarre characters, and wild parties. Bennett even kind of looks like Ryan Reynolds.

But generally, this flick doesn't do it as good as the original. Some of the jokes are kind of funny, but most are tepid or even complete knockoffs of old jokes I've heard before. While the original used eccentric characters and outlandish situations as springboards for humor, this one just goes deep into Bizzaro World (a college run by its ROTC director, who has posted "No Partying" and "No Kissing" signs, and can involuntarily enroll students in ROTC?).

Bennett decently mimicked Reynolds, but he didn't have the same charisma. Cavallari was charismatic, though, and I liked her as the love interest. Meredith Giangrande was downright sexy as forbidden- fruit Eve.

If you love being grossed out, this film ups the ante from the first one on the disgusting factor, although that's not particularly my thing. I do have to say, however, that the soft-porn aspects of this film are better than the original. There are scenes involving girls with vibrators, and a sex-ed class that illustrates intriguing positions (although with clothes on, but still), which may almost make you forget you're watching a comedy.

It wasn't trash, but not very funny either..

[GirishGowda · 4/10 · 20 May 2010]

I loved Ryan Reynold's Van Wilder and I also liked Van Wilder 2: Rise Of Taj as Kal Penn is one of the funniest actors out there. My friend gave this to me to watch as he found it to be very funny and he knew that I liked the first two movies. But Van Wilder 3 is just a cheap spin-off of the franchise to make more money by using the name of Van Wilder. Standing on its own, this wouldn't even have made as much money as it did on the name of the franchise.

This film is a prequel of the first movie and starts by introducing Van Wilder (Jonathan Bennett) when he is in freshman year at Coolidge College. The college is run under the strict Dean Charles Reardon (Kurt Fuller) who is also a military guy. There is not much fun in the college, no parties, no kissing on campus and Van Wilder wants to liberate his college from sexual oppression and party dysfunction. He also meets a girl, Kaitlin Hays (Kristin Cavallari) who is very sexy, beautiful and she wants to be in the military! But he is head over heels in love with her, though she already has a boyfriend who is the dean's pet and training for the military. So, begins Van Wilder's journey into the as yet, unknown (for him) Coolidge College.

The first thing that hits you right in the face is Jonathan Bennett's immense effort to look and act like Ryan Reynolds (one of my favourite actors). Because, lets face it, he probably isn't that good an actor by himself. Also Kristin Cavallari is insanely sexy and hot. Instead of every other girl being naked, she should have been naked. It would have worked just fine for me. Kurt Fuller is a guy I have seen in so many movies and TV shows, but I never knew the guy's name. He is a pretty good actor, just doesn't work for this movie. But, I loved his portrayal of Zacharaiah in 'Supernatural'. The plot is the same as in many other college movies of this kind and the first Van Wilder movie also. I have no problem with that, but in that movie Van Wilder is actually a compassionate human being, rather than an all out party and sex animal. Here we have his two friends, one a pot-head Jamaican and the other is a Chinese named, Yu Dumb Fok (Ha ha! so funny, not). There is also his dog, Collosus's origin story here! There were some pretty hilarious moments though; the dildos beneath the bench at church was awesome, the dog sucking the Dean was funny too. Other than that, this was just another excuse to get girls naked and a cheap rip-off the Van Wilder franchise.

4/10

Cheap laughs and a lousy storyline...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 28 April 2017]

It is kind of difficult to imagine why this movie came into being, and even more so to pretend that it is supposed to be a prequel to the original 2002 "Van Wilder" movie.

It is one of those types of movies where you just know that it is not going to be a grand experience, but you still sit down to watch it, hoping that there might be just a speck of entertainment to be had here.

"Van Wilder: Freshman Years" turned out to be a less than mediocre movie, and not an overly entertaining one either. And I will actually go as far as to say that you should definitely not view this as a prequel to the 2002 movie. Instead, view it as a stand-alone movie that has no ties to the 2002 movie.

This movie relies on cheap laughs, which are brought about mostly by humor well below the belt. But many times this humor just doesn't really come through properly. So it seems that it is the result of some half-hearted script writing.

The storyline in "Van Wilder: Freshman Years" is just not a very interesting or original one. It is all something that essentially has been seen before in similar late teen comedies. So don't count on originality being the key ingredient in this movie.

For a comedy of this type, then "Van Wilder: Freshman Years" was less than mediocre. And once you have seen it the first time, chances that you will return to watch it a second time are slim to none.

no Ryan Reynolds

[SnoopyStyle · 3/10 · 5 December 2016]

Van Wilder (Jonathan Bennett) is a freshman in Coolidge College. The place has all kinds of rules and run by the dictatorial Dean Charles Reardon (Kurt Fuller). Kaitlin Hayes (Kristin Cavallari) and boyfriend Dirk Arnold are ROTC recruits. Van takes an interest in Kaitlin. He breaks through his dorm wall and takes his neighbor Farley as a roommate. They throw a party but only Yu Dumb Fok shows up.

Van Wilder is Ryan Reynolds. It's that simple and nothing less. Jonathan has a bit of that roguish charm but he's no Ryan. Kristin Cavallari has limitations. She can't expand beyond her range. This movie has the prerequisite nudity and Jonathan's charms carry this for a little while. There may be a small chuckle or two but it gets boring by the midway point.

Nothing to Say

[canadianspade · 1/10 · 25 December 2018]

Wanna know a better way to spend an hour and 38 minutes? Beat your head against a wall, you'll get more out of it. Why is there no option for zero stars?

If you thought VW:2 was bad ...

[HenrikJr · 1/10 · 28 October 2009]

Such an awful movie, what more is there to say?

To start with, I'd like to say that I watched the first (original) Van Wilder and liked it quite much. Then I watched the sequel (The Rise of Taj) and didn't find it as good, actually it wasn't good at all. But this third part, it was truly one of the worst movies I have seen in a while.

First of all, the cast. Jonathan Bennett has got zero charisma, and he fails miserably in the way he tries to mimic Ryan Reynolds' version of Van Wilder. Kristin Cavallari, well, what can you expect from a reality-TV star. She, unfortunately, can't act. The Jamaican and the Chinese room mates were embarrassing rather than funny.

The plot. Wilder goes to Coolidge as a "gigolo" who wants to get laid and party, but then he bumps into a girl who he truly loves. Unfortunately the girl has a boyfriend who turns out to be a real douche bag. (Wait, wasn't there something like this in the parts 1 & 2?..) This and the rest of the plot seem to be a bad edition of the same storyline used in the original version. Way too obvious, too.

I could go on and on about how bad this movie is, but it would just make me angrier. Don't waste your time on this.

It's no Ryan Reynolds...

[kyle-b-3 · 7/10 · 7 July 2009]

...But it's still pulled off pretty well. What you have to remember is that this movie wasn't created with hopes that it would win an Oscar.

Sure, it doesn't have what the original title had, but i'm sure fans of Van Wilder will find Freshman Year a movie worthy of a few laughs.

Jonathan Bennett, who plays Van, plays the character brilliantly and as close to Ryan Reynolds as you can possibly get.

The ending leaves room for a forth, so I, along with many other fans i'm sure, are hoping for another.

I can almost certainly say that the majority if not all critics will say only bad things about this movie. But i can certainly say they don't and probably wont ever get the point of movies like this. It's not just another "stoner movie" it's a movie for people who appreciate a laugh.

The director of this movie will suffer in hell forever

[partizanskaorganizacija · 1/10 · 31 July 2009]

This movie is as much enjoyable as chewing your own testicles still attached to you. I don't understand how one can be so talented to make such a disgusting movie. Congratulations this is one of the rare movies that I couldn't watch to the end and I watch a lot of horrible movies during my work at the video store.

3 guys: an ultra cool but subtlety homosexual guy, a pothead who thinks he is Jamaican and of course what else; the foreigner (this time he is Chinese). They are against the evil ones: Dean of the army colleague and his dominions army lieutenant's. Sounds familiar? Yeah? Thats because the movie is total ripoff from Police academy and Nationa lampoons Animal house. Remember the scene when officer Mahoney was having a blow-job during his speech? We have that. The strict female instructor? We have that here. The list goes on and on. I would like to say that movie is just one sketch after another but i cannot because sketches should be funny, this is just sad. Through all the movie Wilder tries to show how supremely ultra mega cool is. In my college he would probably get murdered the first week. The actor who portrays Van Wilder does really really extremely poor job. He tries to impersonate Ryan Reynolds so desperately every second of the movie that he of course like every really bad actor overdoes it and his thinking poses and eye swishing left to right and back make him look like homosexual schizophrenic. Other actor are not much better but at least not so annoying. The best actor I would say in these movie is the golf cart. Oh yes and the lame scenes: vibrators under church singers chairs, dog blowing of dean, dog feces on faces of soldiers,.... Do you see where I am aiming at? Perhaps this movie is meant only for mentally retarded or old under 14 years, that should explain a lot.

I thought that Road trip 2 was the worst movie in the world and it was until I actually saw this. I had to stop the movie someone in the middle because i was going to puke otherwise. I had bad taste in the mouth so I had to watch Wild Geese and Rio Bravo to regain my manliness and will to live.

This movie made me sad because Germany didn't win in ww2.

Actually pretty good

[jaziro1 · 23 October 2010]

First, if anyone is watching a National Lampoon movie for Oscar nominations is a fool.

Second, its actually fairly funny. They just followed the basics.... lots of t&a, a douche bag, a hero, and some chick between the douche bag and the hero.... plus a lot of t&a

third, the only thing I didn't like is the lack of creativity of the jokes. They basically took a page out of Ace Ventura, and Adam Sandler.

I think Ryan Reynolds really made the first one good because, well it was Ryan Reynolds. And even though there have been a lot of N. Lapmoon movies, most of them were pretty... lame compared to this.

a few good laughs throughout, recommend this for a Saturday night rental

[jamurphy · 6/10 · 5 August 2009]

Obviously not as good as the original, but for a rental it is enjoyable enough to share a few laughs throughout. Pretty good casting for the role of van wilder, pulled it off pretty well. Nice to see a recovery for the franchise after the TAJ abomination.

Comparable to the comedy of police academy, with your typical control figure trying to rid the campus of the mayhem that is van wilder. Even down to the lackeys the captain uses to do all his dirty work for him.

Although it is nowhere as polished as the original i do recommend this film for a Saturday night with a six pack and a few friends to enjoy a few good chuckles

awful

[wushahu · 1/10 · 29 August 2009]

I cannot believe that i've lost 1hour and 40 minutes with this insanely stupid movie. I don't recommend it even to my worst enemies. I can't even believe that a movie with this budget can be so bad and by bad i mean almost the worst comedy movie that i ever saw. The characters have stupid expressions on they'r faces all the time that do not fit to the proper situation, they'r actions in some scenes have no rational meaning. It's another classical teenage party movies filled with bad sexuality scenes. The single good thing about this movie is that some of the young characters may be appreciated by the critics and get to play in another movie.

Kicks the Crap out of Rise of Tajh

[matt_billings2001 · 9/10 · 19 July 2009]

Hey guys, I noticed that the movie had a pretty low rating, and really it's not that bad.

If you're like me you loved the first movie and were extremely disappointed with the Rise of Tajh, which honestly was one of the worst unfunny pieces of crap i've seen in a long time.

This movie actually really reminded me of the original, it might not have had the same budget or the same cast, but it was still really funny, and entertaining.

I'm just gonna so go out and rent it, it's a solid watch, I watched it last night and i'm going to go buy it today. So give the movie a chance.

Van Wilder: Freshman Year

[bernard_sinai · 7/10 · 10 November 2010]

Freshman Year is the third installment of the very funny and very popular Van Wilder and is directed by Harvey Glazer. It is the prequel to the original series, Party Liaison, and stars Jonathan Bennet as Wilder, Kurt Fuller as Dean Reardon and Kristin Cavallari as Kaitlin; Wilder's love interest. The movie revolves around Coolidge College campus.

Wilder just having graduated from high school follows the family tradition and attends Coolidge. Upon arrival he discovers that his father's fun loving school is not longer what it used to be. The institution has become militarized by Dean Reardon who seems to hate the Wilder's and makes Van a target.

Van's attempt to party seems to go wrong as the institute has become chastised and all manner of earthly pleasures are considered a sin. His first attempt leads him to the Daughters in Christs' Kingdom (D.I.C.K) having misguided by the acronyms. However, Van fights back with a 'God works in mysterious ways' prank.

Reardon suspects Van of being behind the prank but cannot prove it. As a result he forces Van to join the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) he commands and orders his 'dogs', Lieutenant Dirk Arnold (Steve Talley) and Corporal Benedict (Nic Nac) to crack Van. Van responds with his own brand of outrageously comedic revenge.

For those seeking originality, you will be disappointed. This installment follows the first two in quirky detail. The joke and punch lines is basically a carbon copy of its predecessors. And you may also note the use of high tech gadgets that were unavailable in the first installment, notably the iPhone.

Overall, this is great movie to hang out with friends and have a laugh.

no Ryan no sale

[yugiohmasterv · 3/10 · 13 July 2009]

The new actor they got to play van doesn't do the role justice, the story was boring and lame with only one or two good laughs and the acting was just lame. This was just a way to use the Van Wilder name to make a ton of money off the DVD because it would do terrible with another name. The original was great and trying to bank of a success is just stupid when it comes to this series. Its not the worst sequel i have ever seen or the worst "teen" movie but its up with the worst. It would have been a lot better it was another spin off and not a prequel. The prequel method of movies is one of the worst a series can suffer from. My final thoughts are if your a fan of the original just leave this on the shelfs and don't worry about seeing it, it will be on TV soon enough anyway.

This movie was SO HORRABLE, I signed up just to review it.

[narlinz · 1/10 · 22 February 2011]

I have watched so many crappy movies these past 2 years, but this one takes the cake.

I've never written a movie review in my life, but this was so bad- I feel it's my duty to tell the world. Freshman Year is a bastardization of the original Van Wilder Movie and I have to say... Freshman Year truly is the WORST MOVIE EVER! I'm not saying Jonathan Bennett is the worst actor ever, I'm sure he'd fit perfectly in Revenge Of The Nerds, but not a Van Wilder- there is nothing "cool" about this him... AT ALL!

His lines were stale and forced with no fineness or charisma. He sounds like a geek explaining a math formula- Everything he says, it's like he's "pawning a noob" you or whatever you call it. He wouldn't get beat up if he went to my college, he would be ignored. HE'S COMPLETELY ANNOYING! And the rest of the movie followed suit. So there you have it. Hands down, WORST MOVIE EVER! Anyone that says otherwise works for National Lampoon.

Adult comedy

[Moviemanic22 · 5/10 · 12 May 2016]

In 2012 I was searching for a good comedy movie to purchase that starred a hot woman, and I have to admit this was slightly below my standards. However I was happy with the female lead 'Kristin Cavelleri' But in comparison to Ryan Reynold's original, it was better. I could not understand what was was so novel about the 2002 movie that people made a big deal out of it. There was hardly any adult humour and it just focused on a love story. 'Freshman year' the third in the series ventures more in slapstick and sex comedy. his I have no issues with but throughout the movie I couldn't help but notice there was a 'police academy' feeling present. Even the first scene was very reminiscent of Mahoney's classic bj scene.

If you're expecting a plot, you will be disappointed. There is a love story and it enters half the way in to the movie. Prior to that we are entertained by Jonathan 'big eyebrows' Bennett who entertains us with his crude and dirty gimmicks. There isn't much to explain this movie's relevance as a prequel because I don't think anybody would care. Kristin Cavelleri is nice eye candy. She gives good support and I fail to understand why she couldn't bag more film roles, because she has clearly displays acting ability apart from good looks. Ken Fuller is again as his usual best. Supporting cast are okay. In general worth seeing if you enjoy mindless comedy gags.

not funny, just stupid and annoying

[seronjaa-797-313124 · 1/10 · 4 September 2010]

i hate this movie! i couldn't watch the whole thing. it's just stupid. when i saw the first scene with the blow job, i just thought- police academy. the movie looked for me like a cheap porno movie. the "funny" scenes would maybe be funny if all the people wouldn't act so bad. i mean- everybody saw the girl coming out under the table after van wilder's speech, and everybody was acting like- oh good, she was giving him a blow job, nice! and the other clichés- an Asian guy, a wannabe Jamaican guy, the military guys, an evil secret gay guy.. that's just lame. everything in the movie is unrealistic and stupid. i know that many comedies are a little unrealistic and stupid, but this one is too much. it's written for very dumb people. i like American pie and some stupid teen comedies, but this one is like the teletubbies. it's just sad. and i don't have to mention that the main actor is totally irritating with his baby face and his non-stop stupid faces expressions.

Unbelievably raunchy but hilarious at times

[vchimpanzee · 13 September 2018]

Is this appropriate family viewing? I'm old enough to be the grandfather of many of the characters and I'm not old enough to watch it. I'm referring to the cleaned up version for broadcast TV. Which really wasn't cleaned up enough, but I don't think such a thing was possible. It was pretty obvious where the F-word was used in many cases even though I couldn't hear it, but if my guesses about where content was removed and what was removed are correct, the great Betty White is not old enough to watch this movie. I can't even imagine what some of the content taken out of this might have been.

With that out of the way, I found many of the gags hilarious.

Jonathan Bennett did a very good job (considering the material) as our hero. he made us like him and care what happened to him.

Kristin Cavallari also did a very good job. Not only very good looking, but intelligent as well. Did I mention good looking? And the camera made sure to focus on just what looked good about her.

And speaking of good-looking girls, wow! They made sure to show us as many bikinis as possible. If there was actual nudity, I obviously didn't get to see it because it was TV.

Sure, there is a formula here, but it's a great formula. What these guys and girls did to get even with the villains was amazing and took a lot of intelligence. Really.

If you like juvenile humor that is adult because kids aren't old enough to watch it, and you're not expecting Oscar, you just may enjoy this.

Don't view this movie as a prequel to the first one

[good_charlotte369 · 6/10 · 9 April 2010]

Van Wilder 3: Freshmen Year is set to be the prequel of the original Van Wilder. However, there are many inconsistencies. I wouldn't call this movie a prequel, just a brand new title of the franchise.

If you have watched the original Van Wilder, you may not like this movie. Why? Because it doesn't star Ryan Reynolds. I've watched both movies and in my opinion, both movies were good. They're not awesome movies to start with. I don't expect Ryan Reynolds to star in this film anyway because he is too old for the movie. Just like the American Pie movies, people usually like the original 'lead actor; Steve Stifler' and Van Wilder for this case. The new Wilder hear suits well, young and fresh. He's acting was good, and so were the other actors.

If you have watched most of the American Pie Presents.. movies, don't expect this movie to be as crude and sexual as the above mentioned movies. It's just different..which doesn't mean it is a bad thing.

As a whole, i feel the Van Wilder: Freshmen Year is a good movie and i'd give it the same rating as the original Van Wilder movie, 6/10. Just for the record, i give AP: Band Camp a 6/10, Naked Mile a 7/10, Beta House a 7/10 and Book Of Love a 5/10.

View this movie with an open mind, and not as a sequel.

Too crude, stupid and way over the top!!

[leannej5-1 · 2/10 · 28 January 2010]

Like many others who have submitted reviews on this movie, I also must warn potential viewers that it is terrible!

I have seen many movies that try to emulate the hilarious sex scenes such as the American Pie series, yet they go way over the top.

Van WiLder three does just that. It is filled with dirty sex scenes that are not even funny, most of it is sick and embarrassing to watch. I found myself shifting in my seat at each dirty scene, and I'm not prudish.. The sex scenes in American pie sent me in hysterics !! This movie however is vulgar and awkward.

I however must intervene on the attack of the sequels by all reviewers above. Road Trip was a terrible, terrible movie but the second one (Eurotrip) was absolutely hilarious. I laughed so much I had tears in my eyes. I never ever enjoyed "road trip" but Eurotrip is definitely a must-see!!

Rise of taj was good but not great, however i'm disappointed at the predictability of the storyline. I could think of 50,000 better concepts of a van wilder sequel .... pity.

So watch van wilder 1. If you loved taj, watch the sequel, but don't watch number three or you'll switch it off after half an hour like I did!

Btw- it was still impressive to see the new van actor imitate the same mannerisms as Ryan Reynolds.. I give him credit for that

Not as great as American Pie, but still fun

[i77310 · 6/10 · 8 May 2010]

This is the first Van Wilder film I saw. It is like American Pie but not as dirty.

Seeing him in Lovewrecked, Mean Girls I was surprised to see Jonathan here. His looks is too clean-cut to be convincing as horny desperate to sleep with any girl, fun-loving party sort of guy. He did try his best but he just comes across to me as a sweet and adorable guy. With a body like that, he could get any girl he wants.

The girls are nothing much to look at except when they go topless. No girl looks pretty enough to me except they all have big tits and are willing to strip. Or maybe I just don't get it as I'm not a guy.

It is nice to see Steven Talley who is a really funny and talented comedian but not as good-looking as the first time I saw him (in American Pie Beta House), can't explain why :)

Nothing much happens in the film. The jokes are lame to OK funny. It is nice to see Jonathan gets his girl in the happy ending. A good rental.

Nothing 'Fresh' in this freshman

[sauravjoshi85 · 3/10 · 20 January 2021]

Van Wilder: Freshman Year is a comedy movie directed by Harvey Glazer and stars Jonathan Bennett, Kristin Cavallari, Kurt Fuller, Steve Talley and Jerry Shea. The movie is third installment in the Van Wilder series.

With a lousy storyline, purely predictable plot and cliche dialogues director has nothing to create and despite of few funny punches and one liners the movie majorly is a disappointment.

It seems that the makers are still in the hangover of the previous movies and those who had seen it's previous parts will agree that this movie has nothing new to offer as storyline is similar to the previous two.

Acting is average to below average as it seems that the characters were trying too hard to look comic or funny. Screenplay is mostly predictable and while watching the movie you will feel that you have already watched such scenes. Background music is average and climax is also very much predictable.

Apart from few funny punches and very few humorous scenes most of the movie is a major disappointment and has nothing new to offer. Could be watched one time if you are a fan of adult comedies.

Hoped it was more WILDER

[prateekarora · 10/10 · 11 July 2009]

If you are one of those who complains that this movie like other Van Wilder or American Pie movies don't have any story then I am sorry the joke is on you for expecting them to have one in the first place. As long as they have some coherent plot and can keep my interest till the end I am fine. This movie just did that. I am one of those who watches such movies for its slapstick sex comedy and this movie is full of it. Surprisingly there is NOT allot of nudity, however, the movie basically tells you how Van Wilder started his journey at Coolidge.

Let me also make it clear that this movie is NOT even remotely close to Ryan Reynolds's Van Wilder (2002) although the girl (Kristin Cavallari) in this movie is hot. But of course Tara Reid and Amy Smart (Road Trip) are different leagues.

Hope to see more of her (Kristin Cavallari) in the series, if you know what I mean.

The makers of this series have to work way harder than this if they want to be successful.

Waiting for Van Wilder: Sophomore Year....hopefully it will be much more WILDER than this. Here is a 10 just for encouragement.

Just What It Is

[kcterrell-25046 · 5/10 · 1 September 2022]

How do you judge a Hollywood movie? You could review a film from a classical perspective in terms of direction, acting, cinematography, story, and impact. Or, sometimes, you can judge whether a film achieves what it is wanted to be, even when that may be groveling to the lowest beast. On the latter score, I rate this movie as watchable.

I sat down with this film for something totally different from what I usually watch, and it was definitely different. Cheap sexual arousal, slap stick jokes, crudity, all in a revenge of the nerds schtick is the score du jour. But, within all that groveling to the lowest denominator, it delivers with an underlying, although trite, message. Bennett is interesting in his best Jim Carrey impersonation, and the rest of the cast plays along to his lead. Fuller is a delightful Dean Wormer. In fact, so much of the writing is pulled from Animal House, it sometimes feels like a cheap rip-off. But ultimately the movie finds its own feet and passes some time without feeling cheated.

A very, very, very poorly written prequel

[starfishb · 2/10 · 30 July 2020]

Although most of the jokes and sight gags fell flat, my biggest problem was the relentless distraction of Jonathan Bennett's eyebrows. They look like pieces of black cardboard or plastic glued onto his face.