Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj

Gimly 6/23/2021 3:58:06PM 8.4

Has pretty much all the same negatives as the original _Van Wilder_, only without the boon of Ryan Reynolds. It's an interesting idea to hold on to the name of the character in your sequel/spinoff when they don't actually appear in any way. And by interesting I mean stupid and a transparent attempt to cash in on brand recognition. Seriously you could play this exact same movie only call it "England School Dumb Time" and get 100% the same story across. The script calls/builds upon the original in exactly zero ways. Now, that might be a big deal if the original _Van Wilder_ had some sort of actual value, but seeing as it doesn't, _Rise of Taj_ is just another bad, watchable US comedy like so many others, only this one has the rare inclusion of a non-white lead. _Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product._