Reviewed by Lars Lindahl (larsattacks@mail.com)
"Road Trip" (2000) *** (out of four)
Directed by Todd Phillips Written by Todd Phillips and Scott Armstrong
Starring Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, DJ Qualls, Paolo Costanzo, Amy Smart, Rachel Blanchard, Fred Ward, Andy Dick, and Tom Green
First off: I'm young. I'm 16 years old. Road Trip was made for people my age and people my age will enjoy it. If you're not a teenager, you probably won't like this movie. There is a reason too - it wasn't made for you to like it. Now on to the review.
In my mind, raunchy films such as American Pie, the recently released Road Trip, and (to some extent) the "adult" comedy There's Something About Mary will always be compared with the original gross-out comedy classic National Lampoon's Animal House. One of the few movies to literally take my breath away with laughter, Animal House helped introduce a genre that would sicken overprotective parents for decades to come. After enjoying the excessive nudity, cursing, prankster behavior, and all out college party atmosphere that the 1978 trendsetter created, it really was a shame that the 80's failed to aid in continuing this dumb-fun style of filmmaking, just one bomb after another. However, in the last three years with the addition of Road Trip, the lewd comedy era seems to be relishing a strong rebirth. First in 1998, the Farrelly Brothers introduced Mary, a post college tale filled with indecent behavior and penis jokes so disgusting laughter was the only form of response that made sense. In 1999, the Weitz Brothers' American Pie told the story of a pre-college group and there experiments in the field of sexual intercourse. Once again, the offensively funny, crude style seemed heavily borrowed from Animal House. Finally with Road Trip in 2000, we get a movie much closer in both plot and obscenity to my favorite comedy of the 20th century.
Road Trip seems like more of an homage than a rip off of Animal House. Twenty years ago, it was very difficult to get away with the smallest amount of lasciviousness. I like to think of Road Trip as an updated version of Animal House - this time with the possibilities explored and utilized to their fullest potential. At times, Road Trip does exactly what you think it won't do; something so outrageous and unexpected that it becomes shockingly hilarious. To show how Road Trip goes step further than Animal House: remember when Otter and the gang decades ago, with all eyes watching them, uncomfortably sat in a bar knowing they were the only white people in the room? Well in Road Trip, the four main characters are the only white guys in a fraternity house that they crash at, but the scene doesn't end there - the frat plays a prank on one of the boys by claiming they found a Klan Mask in his duffel bag…uh oh. Would this have happened in a movie twenty years ago? Probably not.
The story of Road Trip has little significance. It merely serves as an excuse for pointless but humorous jokes, one after the other. All you really need to know to understand this movie is that a college student accidentally sends a tape to his longtime girlfriend that shows him having sex with another girl. To prevent a disaster, the boy and three of his friends must travel by car from their college in Ithaca, New York to the University of Austin in three days. A hilarious supplement to the film is a character named Barry played by the insane Tom Green. Much like the John Belushi character of Animal House (except instead of crushing beer cans on his forehead, puts live mice in his mouth), Barry has no real point in the movie but to make you laugh at his unique qualities. Doing gags very similar to the ones on his self titled television show, fans should get a kick out of him, while others may be a little confused at his odd approach towards comedy. Unfortunately, at times, he interferes with the central characters and slows the film down a bit, but mostly he is a positive contributor.
Other members of the cast are excellent as lively caricatures of your stereotypical college student (loves to smoke weed, party, and have sex, hates to study). Seann William Scott is great as one of the travelers. Almost identical to his character in American Pie and to Tim Matheson's Otter in Animal House, he is such a jerk that he eventually becomes fun to watch. It's hard not to watch him steal a bus from a blind lady and wonder what kind of childhood he must have had. DJ Qualls is also great as another one of the travelers. He's puny, gets pushed around by everyone, and is only on this trip because the others need his car. He's like Jason Biggs except much more ignorant and helpless.
Unfortunately, the ending of Road Trip is very disappointing. A weak, empty finish climaxes all of the crazy adventures that lead up to it. Predictable and boring, it certainly can not stand up against the parade ending in Animal House.
Otherwise, you'll have a fun time viewing Road Trip. Let your brain take a time out for once, you won't need it to understand what is going on during the movie and you won't need it to think about the movie's message afterwards. This is the kind of movie, where you don't know what will happen, you laugh really hard with everyone else in the theater, and then you talk about it with your friends the next day. That's it. Enjoy it - then move on with your life until the next one comes out in 2001.
Grade: *** (out of four)
Lars Attacks! A teenager attacks past and present cinema http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
larsattacks@mail.com (c) 2000 Lars Lindahl
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