EUROTRIP(R)
**** (out of 5)
February 20, 2004
STARRING
Scott Mechlowicz as SCOTT THOMAS
Jacob Pitts as COOPER HARRIS
Michelle Trachtenberg as JENNY
Travis Wester as JAMIE
Kristin Kreuk as FIONA
Jessica Boehrs as MIEKE
Studio: DreamWorks
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
BY KEVIN CARR
“Eurotrip” is one of the stupidest films I have seen in a long time.
And so what? “Eurotrip” was funny.
It ain’t Shakespeare. God knows, most films aren’t. But the folks that put together “Eurotrip” aren’t deluding themselves into thinking it is. I doubt at any point in the production of this film did anyone think they would be making a classic.
Proudly billed as “from the producers of Road Trip and Old School,” there’s no pretense about the film. The only expectation is to see some boobage.
Okay, okay. I know you’re reading this and thinking, “This guy is a pig.” Well, what’s wrong with being a pig now and then? I have liked blatant chick flicks like “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Why can’t I enjoy a film with nubile young ladies scampering around a nude beach?
Ultimately, “Eurotrip” delivers in the T&A department – better than it’s predecessors “Road Trip” and “Old School” put together, in fact. Maybe this is the only redeeming value (if you can call it that). But if you go in thinking it’s just a stupid teenage sex comedy, it can be pretty funny.
Scott (Scott Mechlowicz) has just graduated high school, and his girlfriend Fiona (Kristin Kreuk) broke up with him. He confides this to his German email pen pal, Meika, who later wants to come to America to meet him. Scott if freaked out and sends Meika a nasty email. Later, he realizes that Meika is actually a girl’s name and he just lost his shot at this German beauty.
On a whim, Scott and his friend Cooper (Jacob Pitts) take off to Europe to find Meika. Along the way, they hook up with the brother/sister twins Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg) and Jamie (Travis Wester) in Paris. Their travels take them through he London Underground, the sex-filled streets of Amsterdam and the Vatican, where a lot of humiliating, silly and ridiculous gags happen.
The cast is a pack of virtual unknowns. In fact, the kid with the most notoriety is Michelle Trachtenberg who first became famous as Harriet the Spy on Nickelodeon. Ouch! It’s gonna be weird to watch her sexy bikini scene if you were a big fan of that show.
However, the cast takes what it gives them and goes all the way. They’re not afraid to take risks, and in many ways carry the movie better than so many seasoned veterans I’ve seen in the past years. There are some recognizable names and faces, but these are all in supporting roles, including a great performance by Jeffrey Tambour as Scott’s aloof father, Rade Serbedzija as a Bratislavian pop culture fan (referencing “Miami Vice” and “The Dukes of Hazzard”), Vinnie Jones as the psycho soccer fan, Lucy Lawless as Amsterdam’s Madame Vandersexxx and Fred Armisen as the really, really, really creepy Italian guy on the train. (I’ll never go through a tunnel on public transportation again!)
In a way, “Eurotrip” has that slim chance of living on as a classic in the same way that “Animal House,” “Porky’s” or “Revenge of the Nerds” did. (Of course, it has a more likely chance of living on as a routine piece of horny teenage fodder that is the legacy of films like “Private School,” “Zapped” and the “Revenge of the Nerds” sequels.)
Matt Damon also has a great cameo in the film opposite Kristin Kreuk (a.k.a. Lana Lang from “Smallville”). Why is it that Matt Damon’s best work is in cameos nowadays?
Sorry… random thought. This movie’ll do that to you. Back to the “classic” issue.
Every decade sees a rush of teenage sex comedies. The 1970s had “Animal House.” The 1980s had “Porky’s.” The 1990s had “American Pie.” Now we usher in a new slate of films that started with “Road Trip” and “Old School.” At the very least, “Eurotrip” tries to live up to (or, if you prefer, live down to) this trend.