OPENS FRIDAY 25th JUNE
Four out of Five stars
Running time: 90 mins
Enjoyable teen comedy with several hilarious, original gags and an
attractive, likeable cast – this is almost as much fun as an actual trip round Europe.
Despite the fact that the posters proclaim Eurotrip to be “From the people who brought you Road Trip”, it isn’t, strictly speaking, a sequel – the ‘people’ in question are the producers rather than the stars or the director or writers.
It does, however, share a slight plot similarity, as well as Road Trip’s healthy commitment to scenes of topless women, although, luckily, it doesn’t share the same taste for gross-out humour. The result is an enjoyable, frequently hilarious teen comedy, smartly directed by first-time director Jeff Schaffer.
Quest For Crazy European Sex
Newcomer Scott Mechlowicz plays Scotty, a high school teen who gets dumped by his girlfriend on graduation day (a hilarious scene involving a superb Hollywood cameo) and gets horribly drunk as a result. In a drunken haze, he sends a ‘Leave me alone’ e-mail to his German pen-friend ‘Mike’, who he thinks has made a pass at him. Too late, he discovers that ‘Mike’ is actually ‘Mieke’ (German popstress Jessica Boehrs) and staggeringly hot to boot.
In desperation, Scotty embarks on a trip to Europe to find Mieke, with his best friend Cooper (Jacob Pitts) tagging along for the ride in the hopes of some “Crazy European Sex”.
Their trip takes them to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Rome and they have a variety of comedic encounters along the way, including Vinnie Jones as the leader of a bunch of football hooligans and Lucy ‘Xena’ Lawless as Madame Vandersexxx, the mistress of an Amsterdam sex club.
Likeable Cast Of Unknowns
The cast are extremely good and put in likeable, funny performances. Pitts, in particular, is hilarious in what is, essentially, the Seann William Scott role, though, oddly, if you close your eyes, he sounds like David Duchovny. Also, as the only vaguely familiar name in the cast, Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn from Buffy The Vampire Slayer) shines out as Scotty’s friend Jenny, proving herself a decent comic actress.
Basically, there’s a lot to enjoy here, including some truly inspired gags, such as: a ‘robotics’ fight; a goose-stepping child; a hilarious cameo by David Hasselhoff; and the sight of Vinnie Jones opening beer bottles with his eyes. There are also some nice smaller touches, such as the ‘map’ of their progress, which stays on the restaurant table they originally planned it on.
That said, not all the jokes work (the Absinthe Fairy comes to mind), but there’s a guaranteed laugh every couple of minutes and Schaffer keeps the pace snappy. It’s also definitely worth staying for the out-takes during the credits, which offer the sight of Joanna Lumley playing an arse-obsessed youth hostelier as well as a few gags that are so good you wonder why they were cut. It’s also entirely possible that Eurotrip is the first ever film to feature Gratuitous Post-Credit Nudity.
In short, this particular Eurotrip is well worth taking. It may be dumb and puerile in places, but it’s a hell of a lot funnier than, say, American Pie 3. Recommended.