Following in the same vein as "American Pie" and "Road Trip," "Eurotrip" has all the raunchy elements that grossed out and caused countless high school and college students to laugh uncontrollably for 90 minutes. A lack of actual plot and contrived resolutions do not hinder this film from delivering a heightened comedic experience.
The makers of "Old School" and "Road Trip" offer a cast of relatively unknown actors with a few familiar faces. Scott Mechlowicz stars as Scott, a hopeless romantic who discovers on his graduation day that his girlfriend redefines the definition of "whore." She has been sleeping with a grungy punk rocker, hilariously played by Matt Damon. His song, "Scotty Doesn't Know," proves to be a welcome recurring joke throughout the film.
Scott has a pen-pal in Germany, and during their entire correspondence he believes him to be a guy named Mike. In a drunken stupor, Scott turns down his pen-pal's advances only to discover that Mike is actually Meike (Jessica Bohrs), a very hot and single German girl with a crush on him. In a spontaneous act of desperation, Scott decides that he must travel to Berlin to profess his love and remedy the situation he created in his inebriated state.
Cooper (Jacob Pitts) accompanies his best friend to Germany in hopes of assisting Scott win the girl of his dreams.
Pitts tries desperately to be the Stiffler of "Eurotrip," but his antics and the script never really let him attain the bravado of Seann Williams Scott. He does, however, manage to provide numerous instances of hilarity.
Unfortunately, Scott and Cooper cannot get a flight directly to Berlin, so they settle for a cheaper flight to London. While in London, they befriend the Manchester United Football team -- a group of strong, drunk and offensive men that take the two friends under their wing. In a night of drunken debauchery, the two accidentally end up on the team's tour bus to France instead of to Germany. Thus, their conquest is delayed even further.
Luckily, Scott always has his thinking cap on, and he remembers that their twin friends, Jenny and Jamie, played by Michelle Trachtenberg ("Harriet the Spy," "Inspector Gadget") and Travis Wester ("MTV's Undressed"), respectively, are in Paris celebrating their graduation from high school. Somehow, Scott and Cooper convince the twins to drop all of their plans and travel Europe with them instead.
Trachtenberg discards her "nice girl" image from her previous works to join the ranks of the Tara Reids in today's teen sex comedies, and she does it with ease. She possesses that "girl next door" quality, and it is no shock that she is an object of desire for many members of the cast. Wester also adds his own comedic nature to the film. He begins his vacation as an anal-retentive kid with the "Frommer's Guide" memorized from cover to cover, and he finishes his journey as a more relaxed and experienced man. It is entertaining to witness his transformation during their travels.
The plot, without a doubt, is weak at best, but "Eurotrip" never promised to be a think-piece. In fact, some of the events and resolutions are so predictable that even a student from Tech could figure them out before they occur onscreen. But what the movie lacks in thought-provoking script, it makes up for with laughter and outrageous situations. In some instances "Eurotrip" pushes and even surpasses the vulgar and bawdy boundaries set by its predecessors.
I'm not going to lie -- the material presented in "Eurotrip" is risqué and offensive. Nationality, religion, sexual orientation and even incestuous relationships were the material for one joke or another. All of the situations, however, are not mean-spirited in nature. It is a very playful and lighthearted film, and the stereotypes offered are, in no means, attempting to outrage its audience.
In his directorial debut, Jeff Schaffer allows "Eurotrip" to simply entertain. In some instances, though, it appears that he is merely along for the ride, capturing his actors explore Europe and its quirky eccentricities. I did enjoy the rapid overlapping of images associated with the destination of each country. Also, the way Schaffer documented the group's travels was inventive and amusing.
"Eurotrip" is not a spectacular film by any standard, but it achieves its goal admirably. It brought refreshing and provocative themes and material to an already tired genre.
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