(All that driving... just for a sex tape? It better be a damn good one...)
CAST: Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Paolo Constanzo, Amy Smart, Tom Green, D.J. Squalls, Rachel Blanchard, Anthony Rapp, Fred Ward.
DIRECTOR: Todd Phillips
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and inexplicable freaking out over a sex tape - straight ahead...
Ah, the road trip. As I wrote in my review of THE HANGOVER (review # 51), it's as American as apple pie and mud wrestling. And the only thing more fun than a regular road trip is... the college road trip. College is that magic time between the confines of high school and the pressures of adulthood when we can play by our own rules - if for only a few years. And the road trips that one takes during those years are some of the best that one will ever take.
Such is the case with the road trip in ROAD TRIP. The film chronicles the mad-cap efforts of four doofi (plural for "doofus") from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY to retrieve a sex tape that one of them accidentally mails to his girlfriend in Texas. Unfortunately, it's not a sex tape of the two of them - but of him with another girl. See where this is going?
But first, let's meet our characters. We have: (1) Josh (Breckin Meyer), the producer, director, and star of the sex tape in question; (2) E.L. (Seann William Scott), fun-loving dude who is basically Stifler from AMERICAN PIE but a more likable; (3) Rubin (Paolo Constanzo), resident genius who is also pothead extraordinaire; (4) Kyle (D.J. Qualls), skinny beanpole of a kid who also just happens to have a car - which basically makes raises his Q a hundrefold; (5) Barry (Tom Green), a career student/freakazoid obsessed with Rubin's pet snake and its feeding schedule, (6) Beth (Amy Smart), the other star of Josh's sex tape; (7) Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard), Josh's girlfriend and unintended audience for his sex tape with Beth; and - last but certainly not least annoying: (8) Jacob (Anthony Rapp), psycho teaching assistant who wants Beth all to himself - even if it means Josh's destruction.
Actually, to be honest, only Josh, E.L., Rubin, and Kyle set out on the cross-country odyssey to intercept the tape. The others flit about on the sidelines with their own comedy vignettes. Make no mistake, though: the main thrust of the story follows the aforementioned foursome as the hit the road and encounter: (1) Kyle's anal-retentive dad (Fred Ward) who trails them across the US of A, (2) the unexplored terrain of an African-American college, (3) the totally charted terrain (at least, unofficially) of a sperm bank, and (4) questionable roadside dining facilities. Just to name a few...
Will Josh, E.L., Rubin, and Kyle get to Texas in time to keep Tiffany from seeing the tape? Will she even care? Shouldn't Josh get busted for cheating on her? Or does Tiffany have secrets and revelations of her own? Will Barry take good care of Rubin's pet snake while he's away? Or will he overfeed it just for fun? Will E.L. discover some unexpected facets of his sexuality along the way? Will Kyle ever get laid? And if so - with what? Will Josh and the boys make it back in time to take their mid-terms? Will Jacob take advantage of Josh's absence and, uh, take advantage of Beth? Or will she tazer his nuts into oblivion?
All that remains to be discovered. Suffice it to say, I don't know what the big deal is all about. Tiffany might just enjoy that tape and ask Josh and Beth if she can join in.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: As you can see from the plot breakdown above, ROAD TRIP doesn't exactly have a complex story. Just four guys on the road and a mission. Fortunately, their cross-country shenanigans are amusing, hilarious, and clever in equal measure. And when we need a change of scenery, so to speak, the movie switches back to Cornell U. to show us Jacob, Beth, and Barry's storylines.
The entire cast does well. Breckin Meyer is the right mix of earnest and mischievous as Josh. Seann William Scott steals most of his scenes as the confident and charming rogue E.L. D.J. Qualls is appropriately nerdy as Kyle. Paolo Costanzo finds Rubin's genius and slacker sides.
As for the women, Amy Smart is winning and wholesome (and just a bit naughty) as Beth. You can see how Josh would stray from Tiffany for her. Speaking of Tiffany, Rachel Blanchard makes the most of her small role - and is especially hilarious in a dream sequence at the beginning of the movie.
The film's looniest performance, however, comes from Tom Green as the snake-obsessed Barry. His character also narrates the story from the framework of a college tour guide - a clever device that elicits additional laughs.
All in all, ROAD TRIP is both a solid college comedy and a solid road trip flick. Anyone who's experienced either or both should enjoy this movie.
