Eurotrip Release Date: February 20, 2004 Starring: Michelle Trachtenberg, Travis Wester, Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts Directed by: Jeff Schaffer
PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (2/20/04)
You know when someone tells a joke and everyone starts laughing like crazy, and all you can think is, "Wait, did I miss something?" Why didn't I find it funny? Why did everyone else? Well, the screening audience adored Eurotrip. They laughed early and often. One guy laughed so loud and with such intensity that I feared he would cough up a vital organ. I was able to listen so attentively to this man laughing, you see, because I was sitting silently, pondering the vagaries of humor.
Eurotrip is a teen sex romp about four high school grads who travel to Europe for the summer. Twins Jenny and Jamie (Michelle Trachtenberg and Travis Webster) have planned a summer vacation to see the sites; Scott (Scott Mechlowicz) wants to track down his hot German pen pal, Mieke (Jessica Boehrs); and Cooper (Jacob Pitts) tags along to fulfill his perceived destiny of sleeping with kinky European chicks.
The premise of the film is serviceable, but the execution is flawed and entirely underwhelming. Films of this genre rely on nudity and scatological humor, and that's fine. But even the dumbest movie needs to have an emotional core to create a semblance of sincerity. In American Pie, the four leads had very sweet relationships with one another and with their girlfriends, which made us care about the outcome of their bet to have sex on prom night. In Old School, whose producers also worked on Eurotrip, the three middle-aged frat boys' believable friendship and fear of growing old made the ridiculous hazing rituals all the more plausible. But the character development in Eurotrip is remarkably weak, even for the genre. There's no real sense that these four people have ever even hung out together, much less that they're good friends. Every scene feels contrived, a blatant setup for a mediocre punch line. When twins Jenny and Jamie accidentally make out, it isn't hysterically repulsive, it's just silly. And when a German kid randomly draws a Hitler mustache on his lip and does a goose step, it's neither offensive nor funny; it's just sort of baffling.
And the blandly adequate young actors here aren't in the same league as Seann William Scott and Will Ferrell, who are good for a laugh no matter the material. To Eurotrip's credit, however, current Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen is hysterical as an Italian train passenger who likes to molest the boys when their car passes through darkened tunnels. The end credit clips are also entertaining, with Vinnie Jones as a zealous soccer fan spewing barbs at invisible passers-by and Ab Fab's Joanne Lumley welcoming the gang to a seedy hostel. The movie might have been better if they'd included those highlights in the film itself. But then again, the screening audience seemed to discover a lot to like throughout the movie. (That means you, Mr. Vital Organs.) It's something to ponder.
20%