By ANDY GRAY Tribune Chronicle
Howland native Jeff Schaffer and his partners Alec Berg and David Mandel got their first screen credit for writing ''The Cat in
the Hat,'' a movie that rivaled ''Gigli'' for the most scathing reviews of 2003.
The trio gets more control and the last laugh - lots of them - with ''Eurotrip,'' one of the funniest raunchy teen comedies in years.
It doesn't play by today's rules, where filmmakers try to shave an R-rated story into a PG-13 rating so it can be marketed to
preteens. ''Eurotrip'' revels in its R rating. It is a throwback to flicks like ''Animal House,'' ''The Kentucky Fried Movie,''
''Porky's'' and a host of lesser comedies (''Spring Break,'' ''Hardbodies,'' etc.) from the late '70s and '80s.
It has plenty to offend the easily offended (and even the not so easily offended), but it captures the anarchistic spirit of the best
of those movies, that attitude that there are no sacred cows and nothing is off limits as long as it's funny.
''Eurotrip'' takes a teen movie staple - the road trip - and moves it overseas.
Scotty (Scott Mechlowicz) gets dumped by his girlfriend, Fiona (Kristin Kreuk), at high school graduation and finds out she's
been cheating on him. Everyone else finds out too when the lead singer of the punk band playing the graduation party sings about
his affair with Fiona in a catchy ditty called ''Scotty Doesn't Know.''
Scotty confides to his German pen pal about the break-up, and the pen pal makes overtures about coming to America now that
he's no longer attached. Scotty always assumed Mieke was German for Mike, and he rudely rebuffs what he thinks are
homosexual advances.
It turns out Mieke is a gorgeous blond female who now won't accept his e-mails. With his best friend Cooper (Jacob Pitts),
Scotty goes to Europe and tries to explain and pursue the relationship she wanted. Along the way, they hook up with their
friends, twins Jamie and Jenny (Travis Wester and Michelle Trachtenberg), and proceed to wreak havoc on Europe as they take
a circuitous path to Germany.
The structure lends itself to several comedic set pieces, many of which are rooted in well-traveled European stereotypes, like a
lecherous Italian (Fred Armisen from ''Saturday Night Live'') who joins them in their train compartment and turns every tunnel
into a carnal adventure.
Most of the time, Schaffer, Berg and Mandel find a way to twist or tweak the stereotypes to find fresh ideas.
British soccer hooligans reveal a fondness for Sheena Easton. A confrontation with a mime outside the Louvre in Paris becomes
a parody of martial arts action scenes as Scotty and the mime battle using robotic movements.
A trip to nude beach finds only horny men hoping to ogle naked women. And they turn into a horde of ''Night of the Living
Dead''-like naked zombies when they get a glimpse of Jenny.
A detour to Bratislava with only $1.87 between them shows just how strong the dollar is in some foreign countries. And
Cooper's excursion to an Amsterdam sex club has several hilarious moments that are best not spoiled here.
It all builds to an outrageous and profane finale at the Vatican that will make you laugh and wonder whether you will have to
explain that laughter come judgment day.
The cast of unknowns is likable and engaging, and the trio (Schaffer gets the sole directing credit, but Berg, Mandel and
Schaffer wrote, produced and directed the film together) use the more-familiar faces well in small roles. Matt Damon has a
funny cameo as the lead singer of the punk band singing ''Scotty Doesn't Know,'' Vinnie Jones (''Snatch'') is perfectly cast as the
leader of the soccer hooligans, and Lucy Lawless as a dominatrix will fulfill the fantasies of many ''Xena'' fans.
Jessica Boehrs, who plays Mieke, supposedly is a pop star in Germany, but it's hard to imagine Jessica Simpson or Christina
Aguilera doing the things she does here (well, maybe not Aguilera).
If ''Eurotrip'' has a weakness, it might be that it lacks that one big moment that will generate word of mouth, like the ''hair gel''
scene in ''There's Something About Mary'' or the ''pie'' scene in ''American Pie.''
But it's more consistently funny from beginning to end than most bawdy comedies and definitely a trip worth taking.
http://www.tribunechronicle.com/ticket/story/0219202004_tik02euro19.asp
