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A
RAUNCHY LAUGHFEST...
Written
by Thomas
Chau
Edited
by Andrew Marcus
Cast:
Breckin Meyer (Josh), Amy Smart (Beth), Seann William
Scott (E.L.), DJ Qualls (Kyle), Rachel Blanchard (Tiffany),
Paulo Costanzo, Tom Green (Barry), Andy Dick (Motel
Clerk)
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Premise:
Four college guys embark on a road trip from Ithaca,
NY to Austin, TX after Josh accidentally sends a
porn tape to his life-long girlfriend. |
Overall
Rating:
Rated R
for strong sexual content, nudity, crude humor, language
and drug use.
Let's
see, where to begin? Should I begin with Tom Green's
crazy bout with a snake? Or how about the time when
the car blew up? Maybe you would prefer me commenting
on the incredibly cute Amy Smart?
As
you can see by my inability to single-handedly pinpoint
a favorite scene, Road Trip tells many stories
but creates even more memories. It's the kind of comedy
you stomach at first, but laugh at uncontrollably on
the drive home. More importantly, though, it's a film
to remember.
Many
critics compare it to last year's hit American Pie,
mainly because of the raunchy gags and the return of
Sean William Scott (who played Stifler in American
Pie). While some parallel themes and gags can be
drawn between these two films, I hardly put Road
Trip anywhere near American Pie. (Note: If
you're looking to see a semi-American Pie sequel, wait
for Amy Heckerling's Loser opening this July).
It's obvious that DreamWorks was aiming to capitalize
on American Pie's surprise success last year.
Road Trip succeeds in drawing the same audience,
but at the same time, displays a unique personality
of its own. Pie is more "happy go-lucky",
with a heavy focus on sex and relationships. Road
Trip, on the other hand, is hinged on a storyline
about a single college boy questioning his lifelong
relationship with his childhood girlfriend. This storyline
serves as an excuse to put four different college guys
in outrageous scenarios.
The
film begins with our friend, Tom Green, giving a campus
tour of the fictional University of Ithaca. (Note: I've
been to Ithaca, NY. The film doesn't come close to duplicating
the incredible scenery of the town.) As a guide for
the school, it is his job to give a little insight about
the university. But it becomes clear after a few simple
questions from the prospective students that Tom's character,
Barry, knows nothing about the university. So to maintain
their attention, he tells the story of Josh, his roommate,
and the mistake that causes Josh to send a homemade
porn tape to his girlfriend Tiffany in Austin, Texas.
While
Tom Green was an essential character in the film, he
was not used nearly as much as I would have liked. He
served as the narrator but most of his scenes were limited
to him and a snake. Somebody we did get to see a lot
of, however, was the incredibly gorgeous Amy Smart.
How much of her do we see? Well let's just say enough
to make a guy satisfied for a day...
The
rest of the cast deliver their share of one-liners and
laughable situations. Any of the comedic episodes could
have been removed from the movie without disrupting
the flow of the story, thus showing that each "mini-story"
within the movie stood on its own. Road Trip
is definitely going to be one of the last successful
teen comedies, for the trend is starting to simmer down
now.
Enjoy it while it lasts.
(C)
2000, DreamWorks SKG
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