EuroTrip (2004)

Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg, Travis Wester, Jessica Boehrs, Vinnie Jones, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Tambor, Fred Armisen, Lucy Lawless, Diedrich Bader, Mindy Sterling, and Bania from Seinfeld
Grade: A-

I could watch Vinnie Jones yell at people all day.

Summary

Immediately after graduating high school, Scotty Thomas (Mechlowicz) is dumped by his girlfriend. Later that night, as his best friend Cooper (Pitts) hangs with him in his room, Scotty continues to message his pen pal from Germany. It started out as a project for his German class, but he ended up befriending this unknown person through email and they talk constantly. Cooper tells him to be wary of the situation because everything might be cool until this person may want to “arrange a meeting” and kidnap Scotty after having sex with him. Scotty doesn’t take it too seriously though, as him and Cooper head out to some gigantic house party. At the party, they see their friends and fraternal twins Jenny (Trachtenberg) and Jamie (Wester). They talk about how they’re going to Europe for the summer and how Scotty is going to miss out because he’s working with his dad (Tambor). Just as Cooper messes with some girl, the band of the party plays a song making fun of the fact that the lead singer (Damon) has been fucking Scotty’s ex-girlfriend for quite some time now, entitled “Scotty Doesn’t Know”.

The sad part is that the song is actually pretty catchy, and everyone at the party loves it.

Scotty’s ex even comes on stage to make out with the singer as Scotty watches. When a drunk Scotty gets home, he reads his email from his German pen pal and after translating a word he didn’t understand, he finds out that this guy wants to “arrange a meeting”. Fearing that this German guy wants to have sex with him, Scotty sends back a horrible email to scare off this guy. The next morning, Scotty’s little brother reads his email and comments how he can’t believe this German girl wants to hook up. Scotty tells him that it’s a guy named Mike, but his brother explains that the name “Mieke” (Boehrs) is a common name for German girls. He even points out the difference on the picture Scotty owns of her and her cousin, because he’s been screwing it up for this long. Over in Germany, Mieke reads Scotty’s email in sadness and blocks him. Scotty explains the situation to Cooper when he comes over, and they make the decision to go to Berlin to find her, hitting “pause” on both of their summer jobs. They go to the airport and can’t find a ticket to Germany that is readily available, so they accept a trip to London, England as a consolation. They go to a bar and after getting drunk with some Manchester United fans (led by Vinnie Jones), they end up on a party bus with them the next morning.

The bus is headed to Paris, France. Since Jenny and Jamie are in Paris, Scotty and Cooper decide to meet up with them.

After fighting some street performer outside of the Louvre, the four friends have dinner and talk about how this might be their last summer together. Because of this, they decide to travel together and take pit stops along the way to make this the ultimate vacation. The eventual goal for Scotty will be to meet Mieke, but before this happens, they will experience misadventures like no other.

My Thoughts:

Everyone has what they consider to be their “guilty pleasure” movies that may not be obvious favorites by the mainstream public. EuroTrip is one of the many on my elongated list mostly consisting of Pauly Shore movies and A Night at the Roxbury.

EuroTrip may not have the star power of Road Trip or the fanfare of American Pie, but it is still a personal favorite of many. Coming from that early 2000s era of teen sex comedies, the underrated EuroTrip may not be talked about as much, but it’s still pretty damn funny. Yes, it has some of that over-the-top ridiculous humor that was so popular back then, but I love it. It never takes itself too seriously and doesn’t try to create drama that isn’t there. It’s just goofy, crazy entertainment that gets the age group its intending for to laugh. It’s light-hearted stupid fun we don’t see enough of anymore. Who can forget Fred Armisen’s creepy Italian guy on the train, or David Hasselhoff singing during a dream sequence? When you throw in Vinnie Jones and his group of angry drunken Brits, you can’t help but laugh at the chaotic road trip this group of friends find themselves in.

The cast is very likable, with Jacob Pitts and Michelle Trachtenberg shining the most. Scott Mechlowicz is definitely a likable lead, but Pitts is great as the naturally funny, sex-obsessed best friend. He has an infectious smile, has a great delivery, and can make the simplest bit chuckle-worthy just because of his goofy expressions. Him loudly exclaiming “This isn’t where I parked my car” anytime he’s caught in a situation made me laugh every time. Trachtenberg is also very good as the childhood friend. While we’re on the subject, Trachtenberg should’ve been a much bigger star than she was. I always thought she was great in supporting roles. Also, I like the “worst twins ever” bit between her and her brother in the movie, played by Travis Wester. Usually in these types of movies, they always talk about how freaky it is that the twin characters are so similar but in EuroTrip, the common joke is that they suck at being twins (giving us some very funny scenes). You don’t see that a lot.

It even gives us the “absinthe” scene which I will still laugh about to this day. I’m not even going to link it in this review because it’s the funniest moment of the movie.

The amount of mayhem this foursome runs into is so outrageous, you can’t help but laugh at it. It may not be for everyone though. Don’t go looking for substance, character depth, or dramatic or emotional moments. EuroTrip is a teen sex comedy/road trip movie through and through. If you go into this on a random day after work looking to unwind, this would be a good time to watch it. It’s just plain fun. Some may find the humor moronic or low brow, but this type of comedy works in the right environment and the right batch of elements coming together. The 2000s were filled with these great comedies that made this stew of film work, and EuroTrip is one of them. I’ll always find it funny. I loved this era of not-so-serious comedies. I grew up on them! There are so many legitimately, laugh-out-loud funny scenes that get me today like Cooper going to the sex club in Amsterdam and not being able to read the safe word, Scotty talking to the crazy truck driver in German, and of course, the absolute classic scene of them getting accidentally dropped off in the very poor Bratislava.

I laugh every time Scott says, “Dear sweet mother of God….we’re in Eastern Europe”. Everything is depressing, the neighborhood is torn apart, and a dog is even seen with a human hand in its mouth. Sure, certain scenes may play on certain cultural stereotypes, but if you don’t take things too seriously (just like the writers intended), you’ll be laughing a lot harder because of it. I know I did, and EuroTrip will always hold a special place in my heart as a result.

This crazy road trip touches every topic from incest to the pope, and when you combine it with one of the best movie songs ever in “Scotty Doesn’t Know”, you get one of the more underrated comedy gems of the 2000s.

*Note: Watch the end credits/blooper reel.*