Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj

In this lame Animal House knockoff, one of Van Wilder’s disciples makes waves at a stuffy English university by leading a rag-tag band of misfits against a fratful of uptight bluebloods. The twist? Taj (Kal Penn), our hero, is not a cocksure WASP with a Pepsodent smile and bedroom eyes but an Indian-American doctoral candidate (!) who decides to abandon the endless quest for fresh twat when he meets the white girl of his dreams (Lauren Cohan). Hmm. Is this a radical new concept in perfunctory frathouse films? Or simply a ruse to curry favor (pun intended) with diversity-starved audiences? It doesn’t really matter. From the first “pink taco” joke, Mort Nathan’s direction is wretched. The Bucharest locations seem twice as dismal as their British equivalents, and the otherwise talented Kal Penn, who was infinitely better as Kumar, has a total of two good lines.

• Kal Penn
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On the Web
Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj's Web site://www.riseoftaj.com/