Euro Trip

Review by Clint Morris

Like an ice cold beer, you've experienced Euro Trip many times before - but it's still easy to down.

And in some respects, newcomer Jeff Schaffer's film might even be more refreshing than one would anticipate, as it's fairly easy to get drunk on any effort that doesn't require a battery-pack for the brain.

Scott has just discovered his girlfriend has been cheating on him. But it gets worse: his Internet pen pal, Mieke, says she's coming to visit him for the Summer from Europe.

Unsure of whether Mieke might actually be a guy, Scott freaks and impulsively writes back a cruel email.

When Scott learns that Mieke is actually a girl, he decides the only thing to do is to hop a plane to Europe with his best friend, Cooper and track her down. Joining them are twin pals Jenny and Jamie who already backpacking across Europe.

Of course, it's not all as easy as that. Along the way, they get thrown around the country like a fed-ex package - encountering boisterous soccer players, male-heavy nude beaches and courteous truck drivers who are intent on taking them anywhere but their destination.

Apparently Todd Phillips, the director of the similarly-themed Road Trip is a little angry that the film is being marketed on his effort - because frankly, he had nothing to do with it (same producers apparently). If anything, he's said, they've ripped his film off.

Maybe…but when the laughs are as gut-busting as the one's in this flick, audiences are pretty forgiving for misuse of the photocopier.

So what is the same? Okay, we'll there's the fact that it's about kids taking a wild trip together, some of the stopovers also feel familiar, and well…the jokes and bust-shots are also evident in both films.

But what Phillips doesn't remember is that his flick was merely 'funny', Euro Trip is - excuse the French - 'piss funny'.

Sometimes just a few good elements can make a movie. There's not much to the script here, but for what there is, it's witty. Very witty. In addition, the cast are great (especially some of the celebrity cameos: look for a young Oscar-winner at the start as a punk rock singer), the characters suitably off-the-wall, proceedings substantially speedy and the gags very imaginative.

Whilst still not a shade on some of those early 80's movies - though there's enough T 'n' A in this to think you are actually watching one of those - or some of John Hughes earlier efforts, Euro Trip is still a welcome distraction.

It's better than both Road Trip and American Pie - The Wedding combined, and a startling corroboration that all might not be lost for the genre.

3.5 out of 5

Euro Trip
Australian release: Thursday August 12th
Cast: Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg, Travis Wester, Jessica Bohrs, Vinnie Jones, Kristin Kreuk, Matt Damon, Lucy Lawless, Fred Armisen, J.P. Manoux, Walter Sittler.
Directors: Jeff Schaffer, Alec Berg, David Mandel.
Website: Click here.

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