Van Wilder

National Lampoon's Van Wilder
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Walt Becker
Produced by	Peter Abrams Robert L. Levy
Written by	Brent Goldberg David T. Wagner
Starring	Ryan Reynolds Tara Reid Kal Penn Tim Matheson
Music by	David Lawrence
Cinematography	James Bagdonas
Edited by	Dennis M. Hill
Production company	Myriad Pictures Tapestry Films
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment
Release date	April 5, 2002 (2002-04-05)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Germany United States
Language	English
Budget	$5 million
Box office	$38.3 million

National Lampoon's Van Wilder (released internationally as Van Wilder: Party Liaison) is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Walt Becker and written by Brent Goldberg and David T. Wagner. This movie was inspired by the real life experiences of Bert Kreischer while he attended Florida State University.

National Lampoon's Van Wilder stars Ryan Reynolds as the title character alongside Tara Reid, Kal Penn, and Tim Matheson. The film follows the misadventures of its lead character Van Wilder, a seventh year senior, who has made his life goal in helping undergrads at Coolidge College succeed in the future. An article is then written for the campus newspaper by a fellow student, Gwen Pearson, played by Reid, bringing to light Van Wilder's college life. This attracts the attention of Van's father, played by Matheson, which leads to his tuition being cut off. Van Wilder gets stuck in the middle of a love triangle between Gwen and her mean-spirited boyfriend, Richard "Dick" Bagg (Daniel Cosgrove) while struggling to graduate. Van tries various schemes to earn enough money to pay his tuition and graduate, with help from Gwen and the rest of the student body, except a couple of sinister enemies who attempt to sabotage his efforts.

Vance “Van” Wilder, Jr. (Ryan Reynolds) is a confident and cheeky-chappy senior in his seventh year at Coolidge College. With no ambition to graduate, Van spends his days driving around campus in his customized golf cart, posing nude for figure drawing classes, organizing soirees for his peers and interviewing for a new assistant, whom he eventually finds in the sexually repressed Taj Badalandabad (Kal Penn).

Upon learning that his son is still in school, Van’s father, Vance Wilder Sr. (Tim Matheson), decides to sever Van’s financial support, citing that “sometimes you have to recognize a poor investment, and simply cut your losses.” Faced with disenrollment due to unpaid tuition, Van seeks a payment extension as a favor from Deloris, the registrar. Knowing Van’s sexual prowess, the elderly administrator forces Van to have sex with her in exchange for an extension. Afterwards, Deloris hands him the paperwork for an extension, which Van realizes is all he needed to ask for in the first place.