It’s that time of the year. The time where all the studios dumpster-dive in the back lot to see what should be released during the dog days of winter. Eurotrip has emerged, and it’s a shame. If you took every road trip comedy ever made, ingested them, then bonged a bottle of ex-lax, this is what would show up a half hour later. And this is coming from a guy who thoroughly enjoyed Road Trip and Old School, the two films that this one boasts about on the theatrical poster.
We pick up with Scott Thomas (Mechlowicz) on his high school graduation day. Everything is going great, that is until his girlfriend (Kreuk) dumps him in the midst of the festivities. To make matters even worse, she is completely open with him about the cheating she has done behind his back. That even culminates in a rock song that is performed at the graduation party that night (which includes a great cameo by Matt Damon)! Ouch.
As it turns out, Scott has been in communication with a German pen pal for quite some time named Mieke. He has always believed Mieke to be male, so when Mieke suggests meeting, he freaks and scribbles back a nasty e-mail. Shortly thereafter, he finds out that Mieke is a woman, and decides to head off to Berlin to find her since she has blocked his e-mail (why not get another e-mail address? Nevermind).
Before you can say “jump cut,” Scott is in London with his friends, Cooper (Pitts) and twins Jenny (Trachtenberg) and Jaime (Wester). From there the usual mayhem ensues, and they ultimately end up seeing almost all of Europe on their way to Berlin.
Eurotrip sets itself up for several funny sequences, but never pays off. The biggest one includes a scene with Scott and a man acting like a robot on the street. Just when I thought this film was gonna make a turn, the scene ends with a cop out. The whole film is like that.
The presence of the character Cooper does not help either. He is extremely annoying and shockingly unfunny in his delivery. Since many of the key scenes that contain potential humor rely on him, many fall flat.
Vinnie Jones nearly saves the film with a hilarious performance as a drunken Englishman, but he does not get enough screen time.
The film also utilizes just about every European stereotype in the book, but who wouldn’t be expecting that? Those who are easily offended by religious comedy should stay away for the final twenty minutes, however.
A big topic on the IMDB message boards has been the nudity in the film, and it is plentiful. We get the usual breasts, but this one includes quite a bit of full frontal male nudity during a scene at a nude beach. I guess it escaped the sensors since it is used for comedic purposes. And for those wondering if Trachtenberg is available au natural, I hate to disappoint, but she was only seventeen at the time this was filmed, so no dice.
Eurotrip is another predictable and unnecessary road trip movie. At times it shows promise, but as it keeps moving along it gets more and more desperate. Look for it on video store shelves soon…I hope.
GRADE: D-
Studio: DreamWorks
Length: 92 Minutes
Rating: R for sexuality, nudity, language, and drug/alcohol content.
Theatrical Release: February 20, 2004
Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
Written by: Alec Berg & David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer.
Cast: Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Kristin Kreuk, Michelle Trachtenberg, Travis Wester, Jessica Boehrs
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