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Press - 2004
Eurotrip Review
Reuters
Billed as "from the producers of 'Road Trip' and 'Old School,'" but
lacking the antic sensibility of director Todd Phillips, "Eurotrip" is an
instantly forgettable transplanting of "Road Trip" to overseas locales.
Promising young cast flounders amid comic material that's staler than
week-old bread. Ad campaign pitched at college-age auds and the lack of
any similar fare in the marketplace may lead to an initial burst of B.O.
But drop-off should be sharp and quick, followed by a long ancillary
afterlife.
Young Scotty Thomas' (Scott Mechlowicz) life is quickly going from bad to
worse. In the midst of his high school graduation, his girlfriend tells
him that she's leaving him for another guy because he's "too predictable."
Then, at a post-graduation party, Scotty discovers his ex's new beau is
the heavily pierced-and-tattooed lead singer (an almost unrecognizable
Matt Damon (news)) of a punk rock band whose latest song is entitled
"Scotty Doesn't Know."
But the icing on the cake comes when a drunk Scotty abruptly breaks off
contact with his German e-mail pen pal Mieke, believing Mieke has made a
homosexual pass at him. Turns out Mieke isn't another guy as Scott
thought, but rather a really gorgeous girl (German pop star Jessica Boehrs,
making her film debut)!
Inconsolable over the error, Scotty decides to ditch his summer job and
head for Berlin, with vaguely goofy pal Cooper (Jacob Pitts), to find
Mieke and beg for her forgiveness. But when these intrepid travelers find
out they'll have to wait a full week to travel to Berlin, they opt instead
for an immediate flight to London.
Once in Europe, duo meets up with two other friends, anal-retentive
brother Jamie (Travis Wester) and sexy sister Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg
(news)), who are also spending the summer overseas. And the rest of
"Eurotrip" is devoted to the now-foursome's increasingly wayward efforts
to make it to Berlin, bouncing from one European city to the next. Instead
of the carefully escalating farce of "Road Trip" (or of "National
Lampoon's European Vacation," which remains the absurd high-water mark for
this type of pic), writer-director Jeff Schaffer and his co-writers Alec
Berg and David Mandel fall back on a parade of broad, one-note potshots at
various nationalities, most of which wouldn't pass muster at a comedy club
amateur night.
Schafer, Berg and Mandel conceive situations that seem to spring from
Americans' most provincial notions of traveling abroad. To cite just two
weary examples: In Paris, Scotty has a violent encounter with a
silver-faced mime; and in Amsterdam, Cooper finds himself at the hands of
a sex-club dominatrix (Lucy Lawless (news)). Pic's most (and perhaps only)
inspired sequence involves an Italian train passenger ("Saturday Night
Live's" Fred Armisen, fittingly billed as Creepy Italian Guy) who has a
tendency to get a little too friendly with his neighbors whenever the
train passes through a tunnel. But this gag is so subsequently overplayed
that even viewers who've only seen the "Eurotrip" trailers may already
have tired of it.
Pic's four leads have an easygoing, natural chemistry together, but needed
a smarter script. In particular, Mechlowicz shows real star quality in his
second major lead role (following his acclaimed, and radically different
turn in Sundance entrant "Mean Creek").
Tech aspects are adequate, with Oscar-winning production designer Allan
Starski ("Schindler's List") trying his best to disguise the city of
Prague (where pic was almost entirely shot) as a variety of familiar
Western European locales.
--
Directed by Jeff Schaffer. Screenplay, Alec Berg, David Mandel, Schaffer.
Camera (Barrandov Laboratories color, Technicolor prints), David Egby;
editor, Roger Bondelli; music, James L. Venable; music supervisor, Patrick
Houlihan; production designer, Allan Starski; art directors, Nenad Pecur,
Jindrich Koci, David Baxa; set decorator, William A. Cimino; costume
designer, Vanessa Vogel; sound (DTS/Dolby Digital/SDDS), Reinhard Stergar;
visual effects supervisor, Kevin Blank; assistant director, Chris Newman;
casting, Meg Liberman, Cami Patton, Nelia Morago. Reviewed at The Grove,
Los Angeles, Feb. 11, 2004. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 89 MIN.
Scott Thomas ..... Scott Mechlowicz
Jenny ..... Michelle Trachtenberg
Cooper Harris ..... Jacob Pitts
Jamie ..... Travis Wester
Mieke ..... Jessica Boehrs
Madame Vandersexxx ..... Lucy Lawless
Mad Maynard ..... Vinnie Jones
Creepy Italian Guy ..... Fred Armisen
With: Jeffrey Tambor (news), Matt Damon, Rade Sherbedgia.
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