National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers.

“National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers” is the newest movie from the

company that produced “Animal House,” “Vacation” and “Van Wilder.”

“Gold Diggers” probably will never be a comedy classic like other

National Lampoon movies, but it does have its fair share of

laughs.

Cal, Will Friedle from “Boy Meets World,” and Lenny, Chris Owen

from “American Pie,” are orphans looking for a shot at the good

life. After a few failed attempts at crime, like purse snatching

and accidentally getting a woman’s prosthetic arm as well as her

purse, Cal and Lenny decide that marrying rich older women is the

best way to make money.

Cal and Lenny pick the wrong older women. Doris, played by

Lousie Lasser, and Betty, played by, Renee Taylor, are the women

they pick to marry. Instead of being rich, Doris and Betty are

broke and plan on killing Cal and Lenny to collect their life

insurance money.

The premise of the movie has the potential to be hilarious, but

the story line is lacking. For most of its humor “Gold Diggers”

relies on witty one-liners from Lenny or awkward scenes, mostly

sexual.

It’s not the same quality of humor found in Classic National

Lampoon movies. While it lacked the classic characters of “Animal

House,” “Gold Diggers” kept the audience laughing and uncomfortable

for an hour and a half.

Lenny stands out as the funniest character of the movie. Owen

does a great job of delivering his lines with an overly serious

face that makes them that much more funny. Friedle plays such

similar characters in all his roles, it seems like he isn’t even

acting. Friedle over the top performance in “Gold Diggers” makes

him into a caricature. Owens plays off of Friedle’s performance

with a more serious attitude, making the two of them great comedic

partners.

Owens shows that he can act, and act well. Don’t expect any

Sherminator jokes from Owens, his character from “American Pie”

will soon be forgotten after “Gold Diggers.”

“Gold Diggers” is great for one-liners, and has sexual scenes

sure to make most people squirm, but doesn’t hold its own when

compared to other National Lampoon movies.

Two out of four