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      In the tradition of mildly entertaining comedies such as "Road Trip" and highly entertaining comedies such as "National Lampoon's European Vacation" comes a film that did something to me while I sat in the theater. It's hard to explain because a film has never given me this feeling before. Fifty percent of the film made me want to convulse with disgust and burn every person associated with this project. The remaining fifty percent was hilarious. The two halves just didn't seem to go together at all. I would watch one gag " wholly childish and not belonging anywhere near a major Hollywood production " and then watch a sequence so ridiculous, yet so creative and hilarious, it made me wonder if two people were not directing this film.

      The film is "Eurotrip" and the plot flows along like bowel movements after eating bad Mexican food. Everything is set up nice and clean to allow the characters to go to Europe. The plot centers around four friends who, after graduating from high school, decide to go to Europe, all for different reasons. Scott (Scott Mechlowicz) wants to go to Germany and meet the love of his life, a pen pal named Meika who he originally thought to be male; Cooper (Jacob Pitts) wants to go to Europe for the kinky European sex; and Bert (Nial Iskhakov) and Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg) are already going to Europe for a sight seeing expedition when they are joined by their two friends. Once the kids are plopped in Europe, thus begins their series of misadventures, which relies heavily on the eccentric characters they meet along the way. Fred Armisen stars as a French train passenger who gets a little friendly with the two guys every time they pass beneath a tunnel; and, Matt Damon (believe!
it or not) pops up as Donny, the lead singer of a band that has a cute little number named "Scotty Doesn't Know". You'll get the joke if you see the film.

      Some of the gags in this film are pretty damn funny. For example, when Scotty is making love to Meika in his mind, out from nowhere pops a bubble in the right-hand corner which features German superstar David Hasselhoff singing one of his songs. It might be the most humorous scene I have seen in a film all year long. Another sequence, though utterly ridiculous, involves the kids trying to catch a ride from a truck driver who is doped up on pills and booze and wants nothing more than to run the truck right off a cliff. Scenes like these makes me wonder how the remainder of the film got so out of whack. 

      As I mentioned before, some of the scenes also tank. For instance, there is a ridiculous scene in the beginning of the film which is suppose to be a graduation party. Cooper decides to jump into a hot tub with a gorgeous girl, and convinces her to take her top off by telling her she has a stain on her breast. C'mon " how absurd can you be without making people leave the theater" Another equally ridiculous sequences involves the kids at the Vatican, which is essentially once scene after another of Catholic disrespect and scenarios that are not plausible with the tight security the Vatican has. If people thought "Dogma" gave it to the Catholics. And, the most offensive and unnecessary scene would have to be when Scott is in Meika's apartment in Germany and her little brother is behind them with a pencil mustache, walking like Hitler, and giving the German sign of allegiance to Hitler. I was shocked that this material was allowed to stay on screen and I would not be surprised if "Eurotrip" doesn't fare so well in Germany.

      As a whole, "Eurotrip" is a mediocre comedy that tries to be the next cult film, but just cannot cut the mustard. As previously stated, some of the scenes are comic gems, and they alone deserve your viewing. The rest, however, is typical, overused, and some are downright offensive. I recommend this film, slightly, to those of you wishing to forgo any idea of what good cinema is suppose to be, and allowing yourselves to drift away into a world of absurdity and stereotypical hijinx. You might enjoy the ride.

     -- Billy Ray ( 3 out of 4 pops )

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      Gareth ( 3 out of 4 pops  )

     From the twisted minds that brought audiences “Old School” and “Road Trip” comes the ribald romp “Eurotrip” that sends a quartet of young Americans overseas in search of love, sex, and good times.  For Scott (Scott Thomas), graduation has been a disaster as he gets devastating news and becomes the unflattering subject of a soon to be international hit single. His best friend Cooper (Jacob Pitts), attempts to console him but things get worse when Scott rudely responds to an e-mail from his European pen pal only to realize that the person he has been writing, Mike, is in fact a lovely young lady. Cooper and Scott had long thought that the pen pal was a male and took the offer of a visit as a come on thus prompting the rude response. Since his pen pal has blocked his e-mail and has an unlisted phone number, Cooper and Scott rush off to Europe as package couriers to meet Mike. The duo first arrives in London and end up with a group of rowdy Soccer hooligans who are on their way to Paris to watch a match. While in Paris, Scott and Cooper meet up with two of their friends Jamie (Travis Wester), and his twin sister Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg), who are also visiting Europe and decide to accompany Scott and Cooper. Naturally things do not always go as planned as the group ends up in some very funny and outrageous situations ranging from nude beaches, encounters with a French mime, the Red Light District of Amsterdam and an overly amorous Italian train passenger (Fred Armisen), that will leave you laughing out loud.  While the film does not have much in the way of plot and acting, the laughs come at a steady pace and more than one person at my screener mentioned that it was much funnier and better than they thought it would be as we were exiting the theater.  I myself could not remember a film that had made me laugh as much as this one did, as while the jokes are very over the top and crude they are often well timed and very easy to laugh at. Yes some people will be offended at the image of a person being given the special treatment at an Amsterdam Brothel and the results of two twins having far too much alcohol but this film was not made for them. If you like a good laugh and do not mind this type of humor, then prepare to laugh long and hard, as “Eurotrip” is a trip well worth taking.