ROAD TRIP
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 2000 filmcritic.com
filmcritic.com
Tom Green might say: Road Trip is the greatest movie of all time.
He'd be right. If you're a 15-year old boy.
Treading on the thinnest of plots, Road Trip fully earns its obvious comparisons to American Pie, There's Something About Mary, and even Animal House -- with one gross-out, slapstick scenario after another, all wedged into a tight 90 minutes of running time.
Witness our college-aged hero Josh (Go's Breckin Meyer), who figures his long-distance girlfriend Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard) has blown him off, leading him into a night of passion with local girl Beth ("Felicity"'s Amy Smart). When the ensuing sex tape (why must there always be evidence?) is mailed to Tiffany in error, the titular road trip begins, as Josh must make the 1,800 mile trek from Ithaca, NY to Austin, TX and be back in time for midterms. And what's a road trip without a bunch of guys along for the ride? And no money!? (If you've seen Overnight Delivery -- same thing.)
Highlights from the trip include an exploding car, a sperm bank, a visit to an all-black frat house, a little Viagra (though not in conjunction with the sperm bank), and a stolen bus for the blind -- all narrated by Tom Green, who has stayed behind in order to feed a pet snake.
The acting, the line delivery, the music -- everything is as it should be here. Constantly we are reminded that we are not watching the comedy of Woody Allen or Albert Brooks. We are watching a "Beavis and Butt-head" episode played by real-life actors. Only funnier. And cruder.
Thank god, each scene of Road Trip is played to its comedic terminus. Sometimes this is clever, often it's funny, and invariably it's rude and disgusting. If you aren't prepared for balls-out juvenile humor -- and lots of it -- Road Trip is not going to entertain you. If you actually want a story, go read a book. But if you want to see a bit of nudity and a lot of potty humor, Road Trip ought to help you make it through the summer.
RATING: ***1/2
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Todd Phillips Producer: Daniel Goldberg, Joe Medjuck Writer: Todd Phillips, Scot Armstrong Starring: Seann William Scott, Breckin Meyer, DJ Qualls, Tom Green, Amy Smart, Fred Ward, Andy Dick, Rachel Blanchard, Omar J. Dorsey
http://www.roadtrip-itsgood.com/ --- Christopher Null - null@filmcritic.com - http://www.filmcritic.com
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