Plot: What’s it about?
Essentially every movie about college that comes out is automatically compared to Animal House. Though the days of the fraternity movies may be left back in the 80’s, college is still the focus point for many a mindless comedy. This is where Road Trip comes in. Featuring an ensemble cast, Road Trip doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s a darn good thing. Featuring the one and only Tom Green, and if you haven’t seen this guy…he’s about the funniest person alive, as a college vet giving tours on campus and assorted other activities as well. A quick background on what a “Road Trip” is…essentially it’s mindless college kids packing up cases of beer, heading into a car and going to another college campus (usually to party). What’s wrong with that? In this case, Josh (Breckin Meyer) and his longtime girlfriend Beth (Amy Smart) have gone to different colleges. She’s at the University of Austin (not Boston…it makes sense once you’ve seen the movie) and he’s at a college in the northeast. The two still remain loyal (or try to, anyway) to each other, but events take place that could jeapordize their long-standing relationship.
After a party, Josh and Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard) hook up. Tiffany is the object of everyone’s desire and it’s lucky Josh that takes the excitement back to his room. Tiffany has the bright idea to film them while they, uh…make whoopie. Josh, hesitant at first, quickly changes his mind once Tiffany takes her clothes off. Now this isn’t the problem…the problem is that Josh was in the middle of a videotape letter to Beth as she has not been returning his calls. Josh thinks she is cheating on him and sends her a “heart and soul” message via videotape. Josh then asks his friend, Rubin (Paulo Costanzo) to mail the letter for him and in the process the tape of Tiffany and Josh is on it’s way to Austin for Beth and all of her friends to see. So this is where the “Road Trip” part of the movie comes in. They have to race halfway across the country to beat the mail so they can make sure that Beth doesn’t see the tape and the relationship is saved, etc.
Of course, all the fun of a road trip is getting there, right? Taking local nerd, Kyle’s (D.J. Qualls) car, the foursome is off to Austin to get the tape. It’s not long before Kyle’s parents are on his trail as he has maxed out their credit card and destroyed their car. But fear not, the gang soon hijacks a school bus and is back on track to intercept the tape. It’s amazing the amount of things that happen and the lengths that they go to to get money (details I’d rather not mention here). Still, Road Trip is an instant classic “college” movie. Tom Green really has no point in the movie other than to make us laugh harder. As mentioned before, he’s a tour guide trying to help a group of high school students make their college decision. And he has a real taste for seeing if the pet snake will ever eat his dinner…While Road Trip may not be the best movie ever made, it’s funny and one that you’ll probably watch on more than one occasion. Drink up friends…and enjoy!
Video: How does it look?
I find it somewhat odd that when watching a movie that came out in the year 2000 I think “ancient.” And that’s not indicative of the transfer we get on this new 4K disc, but if you know – you know. That being said, we’ve got two versions of the movie to look at, one looking better than it ever has the other looking…good (and not in a great way). The Theatrical Cut found on the 4K disc enjoys a fresher look and feel with bumped up colors, increased detail as well as stronger contrast. The unrated cut (found on the Blu-ray) looks pale and dated in comparison. Why they went through the trouble of only doing a 4K restoration on one cut of the movie is beyond me and you’d figure any fan of the film would opt for the unrated cut. So it’s a mixed bag with this looks.
Audio: How does it sound?
As a rule, most comedies (teen comedies at that) don’t really feature robust soundtracks. We get a DTS HD Master Audio mix, which has a few notable points where the audio shines. Vocals are clear, we get to hear Tom Green’s mumbling in its HD glory. Surrounds don’t get too involved save for a nice little explosion about halfway through. I doubt many fans of the film are too excited about a sound mix we’ve had for ages.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Disc 1 (4K)
- Audio Commentary – Hats Off Entertainment’s Joe Ramoni gives us a commentary track on the theatrical cut of the film (this is replicated on the Blu-ray which only has the unrated cut of the movie, which makes little sense). Ramoni knows his stuff about the film, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Still, it’s better to have than have not and this is the lone supplement on the 4K disc.
Disc 2 (Blu-ray)
- Unrated Cut – Sporting one more minute of laughs!
- Audio Commentary – Same as above.
- Even Been on a Road Trip: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette –
- Music Video – “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues” by Eels
- Deleted Scenes – Eleven minutes’ worth, but given we’ve already got an unrated cut, I found myself scratching my head.
- Theatrical Trailers
The Bottom Line
There are some genuinely funny moments in this film, as well as some cringe-worthy ones. Ultimately I think director Todd Phillips hit the nail on the head a few years later with Old School and a few years later after that with The Hangover. Still, there’s fun to be had here, but to get the “benefit” of the 4K restoration you’re relegated to the film’s theatrical cut. Where’s the fun in that?
