Granted,
there are a couple of good laughs to be had here – but be warned
: they are pretty darn dirty! – but with movie ticket prices and
some dvd packages as lofty as they are, you might be best served simply
re-watching Van Wilder again on VHS. In fact, it’s
rather amazing that this B-comedy even got a run at the local cinemas
– it’s more fitting to Blockbuster than mass splashings of
the colour blue. Writer-director Rob McKittrick utilizes his
experience working as a waiter in restaurants by using his eternal
on-the-job yarns for a film template. The result? An ensemble sex
comedy about the staff of a medium-range restaurant called ShenaniganZ. When
the staff – which includes a token paedophile prankster
who’s ‘the coolest guy at ShenaniganZ, big f____ deal!
That's like being the smartest person with Down Syndrome!’
(Reynolds), a youngster whose reluctant to accept the life altering
assistant manager job (Justin Long), a scared witless new employee
(John Francis Daley), and a hypertense waitressing lifer (Alana Ubach)
- aren’t spitting and adding pubic hair to unsatisfied
customer’s returned meals, smoking dope in the cool room, or
trying to get it on with the minor’s, they’re competing in
a game where the goal is to underhandedly induce your co-workers into
looking at your genitals. Naturally, they spread this one out over the
course of the movie, culminating in a rather ‘no thanks’
peekaboo of co-star Luis Guzman’s happy sack. Waiting
is one of the films that will really test you. Within the film’s
first half-hour, I’m predicting the hardly-done ‘walk
out’ was a lingering temptation for more than several of the
viewers. Thankfully, the film does grow on you, as do its eccentric
bunch, and you will indeed find yourself laughing at some of its
disgustingly granny-bad gags, so it never comes to that. Still that
doesn’t mean it’s a case of too little, too late. Send it back. EXTRAS
Another typical imbalance between the film and the extras. Whilst
the movie itself might only be passable, the 2-disc edition DVD is as
sweet as barley sugar. Best of all, the extras just aren’t a boatload
of EPK time-wasters, 500 dissimilar versions of the TV spot or
exclusive interviews with Alana Ubach’s hair-designer (read into that
what you will) – far from it, these are A-grade premium supplements
right here. The best extra – over on Disc 2 – is an
all-inclusive documentary on the film - one that runs for just about
‘as long as’ the film. The amusing Rob McKittrick, writer/director of
the film, as well as most of the cast (except for Ryan Reynolds, whose
now off playing with the Hollywood bigwigs), have some hilarious
stories to tell, and oodles of background information on the film to
spill. Make sure you keep watching till the tail end for a brilliant
behind-the-scenes moment where the director and co-star Luis Guzman go
at it. What is good about this doco is that nobody has told
the cast or crew to play ‘suck up’. Usually in these types of
featurettes the cast will waffle on about “how great it was to work
with” so-and-so and how everyone was like a “big family”. Not here, in
fact if someone didn’t like someone – which seems to be the case with a
couple of people - or someone didn’t agree with someone’s decision – be
it the casting of an actor or whose actually in charge of the
production - it all comes out. The casting director clashes with the
director, the producer clashes with the director, a couple of the
co-stars clash, and there’s some candid insight into how people felt
when Guzman cracked a wobbly on-set. Priceless stuff.
Conclusion:
Movie 60% Extras: 65%
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