Houdini's Magic Movie Ticket

I wasn't going to watch this, probably ever, as the ads for it were just a huge turnoff. It seemed lame. But it was on Comedy Central the other day, and I happened to see a particularly clean and hilarious moment involving an overzealous martial arts demonstrator. It was so funny that my attitude changed, and I decided to give the movie a shot.

Thankfully, watching it on Comedy Central during the day (and not 1am Saturday and Sunday mornings during the "Secret Stash" of unedited programming) meant that I was prevented from having to sit through some of the really extreme gross-out stuff.

I enjoyed the basic storyline, centering around a 7-year college student who "has nothing to show for," other than a ton of friends who would do anything for him, and social skills to rival those of Senator John 'Bluto' Blutarsky of "Animal House." What I found funny was how the main character in "Wilder" had a father played by Tim Matheson, who was also in "Animal House." Seeing Matheson's reactions to all the shenanigans in "Wilder," and comparing everything with what went on in "Animal House," it's easy to see how even the coolest party guy of one generation can completely reject the celebratory efforts of the next.

There's a completely wild moment near the end of the film in which someone's life gets ruined. The movie tries to build the person up as being "very bad," but I still felt sorry for him. Tara Reid was the revenger, and her actions seemed a bit extreme.

So if you can find this movie edited on TV, it may be for you. Or you could always go get the unrated version instead!

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