National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year Information

National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year is the third film in the Van Wilder series, following National Lampoon's Van Wilder and National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj. Freshman Year is a prequel to the first film. It was released straight-to-DVD in 2009. The film was directed by Harvey Glazer and stars Jonathan Bennett, Kristin Cavallari, Jerry Shea, and Steve Talley.

Plot

Van Wilder (Jonathan Bennett) has graduated from high school. He is supposed to go on a trip to Amsterdam with his dad (Linden Ashby), but his dad is busy with work, so Van ends up going alone. Van ends up going to Coolidge, following family tradition. His family has their name on a building there, Wilder Hall. However, when he gets there, Coolidge is no longer the fun loving school of his dad's time, but a military-based institution run by Dean Reardon (Kurt Fuller).

Reardon, a military man who hates the senior Wilder, wants to make the younger Wilder's life miserable. He can not force him out because his dad is rich and has ties to the school, so he tries to make Van's life a living hell. Van turns a one bedroom dorm into a two bedroom (by breaking down a wall). His roommate is Farley (Nestor Aaron Absera), a pothead from Jamaica. The boys decide to throw a party on campus, which is not allowed, along with kissing, drugs, alcohol, sex, or anything else that is 'fun'. The only person to show up to the party is Yu Dum Fok (Jerry Shea). The boys try to find the girls, but they just find some religious, prudish girls led by Eve (Meredith Giangrande).

After she throws sacramental wine on them, Van pulls a prank on them during church. Reardon knows Van is behind the prank, so he commands his ROTC students, Dirk (Steve Talley) and his closeted sidekick Corporal Benedict (Nick Nicotera), on Van, trying to make him crack. Van falls for Dirk's girlfriend, Kaitlin (Kristin Cavallari), causing Dirk to get even more upset. Kaitlin thinks, lives, and breathes the military, and believes in chastity before marriage. Of course, Van has to shake things up. After playing a military game with Reardon that results in him stepping down as dean and being tasered, Van and Kaitlin end up together and Van decides to finish college. The film ends as Van leaves Dirk and Benedict tied to each other in their underwear.

Home Media

National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year was released on DVD on July 14, 2009. As of November 2011, 226,168 DVD units have been sold, bringing in $2,994,116 in revenue. This does not include Blu-ray Disc sales or DVD rentals.