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, yada, yada, yada…
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 schoolbus 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. Dreamworks has added a few interesting supplements which should make your viewing all the more enjoyable. Drink up friends…and enjoy!
Video: How does it look?
Road Trip is shown in it’s 1.85:1 aspect ratio that looks very good. Ok, it’s near perfect. After seeing some of the other movies that came out on DVD from “new” movies, it’s hard to say how Dreamworks keeps cranking out these superior-looking transfers. Road Trip is filmed, for the most part, outside and the landscapes look very well-detailed throughout. The colors are rich and vibrant and edge enhancement is at a bare minimum. Sometimes, though, this can be a bit too much as evidenced in a few scenes in this movie. Trust me when I say that you just don’t want to see that much detail. I won’t mention the scenes…I’ll let you figure them out. Overall, this is another stunning example of how DVD should look from Dreamworks.
Audio: How does it sound?
Now this is something that I wasn’t expecting…Road Trip has both a DTS and Dolby Digital track as well as a Dolby Surround track. It’s almost common knowledge that comedies, especially ones like this movie, will not have a soundtrack that you’ll remember. And, it’s the case with Road Trip. While most all new movies have ample surrounds, a clear dialogue track and an all-around decent sound, Road Trip excels. The DTS, as usual, has a richer field of sound than the Dolby Digital, but either one that you pick will be just fine. After all, this isn’t the kind of movie that sound really makes a whole lot of difference. A nice touch to see dual soundtracks on the same disc, something that Dreamworks is doing more and more of.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Though not a full blown Special Edition, Road Trip does have it’s share of supplements. The original theatrical trailer, along with some production notes and cast bios are included (as they are on almost every Dreamworks disc). An “Eels” music video is included, but the real treat here are the deleted scenes and the “Making of Featurette with host tom Green”. I won’t elaborate on the deleted scenes, as I don’t want to ruin any of the surprise, but I will say that they should have all been in the movie. The making of featurette is more of typical Tom Green’s schtick, which is always a good thing. On the whole, I’d say that Road Trip is a fairly decent movie that takes me back to the 80’s with it’s style and humor (i.e. lots of naked girls for no point…). The DVD has been given a good treatment by Dreamworks and the sound is fairly decent as well. So what are you waiting for?
