Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3571 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-05-28
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Colour, DVD-Video, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Road Trip is a mostly agreeable, by-the-numbers teen flick with a handful of inspired sequences, most of them involving MTV's resident disturbed soul, Tom Green. It concerns a sleepy University of Ithaca student named Josh (Breckin Meyer) who accidentally mails a video of his sexual encounter with an infatuation (Amy Smart) to his long time girlfriend (Rachel Blanchard), who's seemingly avoiding him while at school in Austin, Texas. Naturally, he recruits some pals--Seann William Scott as the lech, DJ Qualls as the hopeless nerd and Paulo Costanzo as the doper genius--to hit the open highway and intercept the package. Even more naturally, mayhem ensues: a car explodes, a bus is stolen, a nerd is deflowered, French toast is horribly violated and an elderly man bogarts both pot and Viagra.

The film's humour is more democratic than politically correct, as everyone--women and minority characters, not just the hipster white guys--have a hand in the high jinks. Green plays Barry Manilow (no, not that one), a professional student (eight years and counting)--he relates the film's story to sceptical prospective students while leading them on a tour of the college. In particular, in an already justly famous sequence of scenes, he sadistically anticipates and endeavours to accelerate a mouse's demise at the jaws of a python. It's very much in the vein of American Pie, perhaps a smidgen tamer, but at least its characters don't really learn any dopey lessons in the end. Director and co-screenwriter Todd Phillips, who earlier made the much-questioned documentary Frat House, again proves he's more adept at staging fictional comic sequences than real ones. --David Kronke, Amazon.com

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
University of Ithaca college freshman Josh (Breckin Meyer) misses his childhood sweetheart, Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard), who is going to school in Austin, Texas. Josh makes a tape proclaiming his love for her, but one of his friends accidentally mails the wrong tape; he instead sends the tape of Josh having sex with the beautiful Beth (Amy Smart). Josh had slept with Beth only after assuming that Tiffany had found someone else. So Josh, E.L. (Seann William Scott), Rubin (Paulo Costanzo), and Kyle (DJ Qualls), the geek with a car, set off in a powder blue Ford Taurus to intercept the tape before Tiffany can see it. They leave behind the insane Barry (Tom Green), who is on the multiyear graduating plan and would rather stay in the dorm and feed a live mouse to Mitch the snake. The group's 1,800-mile trip will feature encounters with exploding cars, crazy motel clerks, too-hip grandparents, stealing from the blind, the wrong fraternity, and that old stand-by, chef's revenge. The story is told in flashback, as the always frightening Tom Green leads a group of prospective students and their parents through an absurdly hilarious tour of the Ithaca campus, selling Josh's story as a reason to attend the school. ROAD TRIP is good raunchy fun, starring a likable cast of characters, told by director Todd Phillips with a charm that places it above the standard teen exploitation flick.

Customer Reviews

very funny but will deter people from paying for their kids to be educated at university
This movie is very funny indeed.However it's not suitable for children, old-fashioned people with manners,or parents who are thinking of paying for their sons and daughters' education at a university.The sad thing is that students really do behave this badly.I couldn't watch it again because apart from the gross behaviour of the students there isn't much of a story going on.

Gross-out on wheels
Typical gross-out fare, but very funny. Those long odyssies across the U.S are always a fertile ground for comic or dramatic scenarios. Plumping for the former, the makers of Road Trip have crafted a highly amusing tale that could easily have been termed Road To Damascus, as each character emerges from their experience/ordeal a different person.

But let's not get too serious. 3 college dudes decide to make the long journey from New York state to Texas in order to intercept a dirty video made by the understated hero, Josh (Breckin Meyer). He is joined by friends Rubin and E.L but they need a car so select sheltered, nerdy but likable Kyle to accompany them, with his vehicle. Despite his wimp-like protests all along the journey, it's Kyle who grows in so many ways.
The dynamics between the 4 youths work well, Josh being the most sensible to the highly irresponsible E.L, played by the mischievous-featured Seann William Scott of American Pie fame.

The trek is a race against the clock on two fronts for Josh but they still take time to visit Rubin's grandparents on the way, as well recieving a dubious form of treatment at a clinic, cue the settings for the most shocking and comic scenes of the film.

For me, the only downside of Road Trip is the inclusion of Tom Green's character. Whilst the trip is progressing, we're taken back at intervals to the boys' college, where Green is edging closer to giving a pet snake his feed. Too much time is spent on this non-allegory, the reason the film gets only 4 stars.

Ask Yourself An Honest Question
Do you like American Pie?

If so, this film is certainly made by the same stuff, and Seann William-Scott players E.L. which is a Stifler clone so obvious it's a wonder copywright writs were not served on the producers!

Tom Green is excellent, and the plot and sub-plots are fun and diverse. This is definately not for someone who needs a dose of reality, the comedy scenes appear to have been created and then a plot placed around them rather than vice versa.

The movie serves it's own purpose, by that I mean it is like a snapshot of life, rather than a spiritual journey. As with most American films, all the characters go over what they "learn" from the journey, but not as blatantly as American Pie, with the high school thing.

DJ Queals is also a legend in this movie, which has a strong young cast. The saddest thing for me is that there was no sequel. Considering in 2007, there are still American Pie movies being released, this was definately worth Road Trip 2.