LAMB MOTM: EuroTrip

Stargazers, I finally got off my duff and managed to contribute to the LAMB MOTM (that's Movie of the Month to you!). Actually, I wrote my post for the inaugural selection, The Big Lebowski, back in June. I just happened to write it one day too late. No matter, I am turning over a new leaf with the September MOTM:

EUROTRIP

Original Release: 02.20.2004
Rated R
1 hour, 33 minutes

Rating: See below





Predictable Scott Thomas (Scott Mechlowicz, TV: House) already has his summer job lined up, his college enrollment is complete, he's even planned for his girlfriend, Fiona (Kristin Kreuk, TV: Smallville), to attend college with him. But Fiona dumps him at graduation and everyone, both family and friends, hears about it. On the bright side, Scott discovers his German penpal, Mieke (Jessica Boehrs), is a smokin' hot chick. Too bad he thought she was a dude when he emailed to say never contact him again. On the advice of his best friend, Cooper (Jacob Pitts, 21), Scott is convinced the simplest way to reopen communication with his potential soulmate is to go to Germany. Naturally, this last-minute plan is complicated, requiring the boys to fly into London, where they meet up with their friends, twins Jamie (Travis Webster, TV: On the Lot) and Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg, Ice Princess).

EuroTrip follows in the tried and true tradition of road trip comedies. Guy wants (insert VHS tape/White Castle/girl), object of affection is far away, guy embarks on simple road trip, trip turns needlessly zany and ridiculous. The nuance in EuroTrip is that this road trip takes place in Europe. Scott and his friends traverse London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Berlin and Rome via plane, train and automobiles (including a bus full of soccer hooligans) just so Scott can find Mieke.

Would it have been easier for Scott to just create a new email address to contact Mieke after his primary account was blocked? Yes. But where's the fun in that? The fun is watching Scott get into a robot-dance battle with a street performer in Paris. The fun is watching Cooper and Jamie experience the sexual freedom of Amsterdam. The fun is watching the group be accosted by a creepy Italian guy (Fred Armisen, Baby Mama) on a train.

The other fun element of EuroTrip is the cameos. Lucy Lawless (Spider-Man) appears as Madame Vandersexxx and Vinnie Jones plays Mad Maynard, a soccer hooligan with some seriously strong eyelids. I didn't even mention the greatest cameo by Spank Bank inductee Matt Damon. I won't give you any details, but his two minutes of screentime alone is worth the rental.

Dirty Undies
Zany adventures and unbelievable plotlines not for you? How about more bare breasts than you can shake a stick at? And speaking of shaking sticks, EuroTrip has more dong than you would ever expect to see in a non-pornographic film. Sadly, neither The Trach nor her male associates go nude, so you'll have to find those images elsewhere (and let me know when you do find them). EuroTrip not only basks in its R rating, but whole-heartedly acknowledges it; the unrated DVD even boasts a menu to queue the nude scenes for that quick fix.

The Money Shot
By now it's clear that EuroTrip isn't ground-breaking cinema. Things like the Green Fairy and the Vatican debacle are too silly, if that's possible. However, it is a worthy inductee into the halls of venerated road trip comedies and definitely worth a little more than a matinee admission.

As for its designation in the annals of the LAMB MOTM; Reel Whore gives EuroTrip LAMB Love. Check out who else feels the way I do.