EuroTrip

One of this new century’s very best comedies, EuroTrip follows Scott Mechlowicz’s Scotty as he and three friends (Jacob Pitts’ Cooper, Michelle Trachtenberg’s Jenny, and Travis Wester’s Jamie) head to Europe and encounter a whole host of wacky characters and situations. Filmmaker Jeff Schaffer, working from a script written with Alec Berg and David Mandel, does a superb job of establishing EuroTrip‘s decidedly irreverent sensibilities right from the get-go, as the movie kicks off with an engaging and frequently hilarious opening stretch culminating in the now-legendary “Scotty Doesn’t Know” sequence – with the picture, past that point, segueing into an episodic midsection that’s bursting with oddball yet often laugh-out-loud funny sequences and set-pieces (including the gang’s encounter with Fred Armisen’s creepy Italian guy, Scotty’s duel with J.P. Manoux’s French robot man, and Cooper’s stint at Lucy Lawless’ intense sex dungeon). It’s clear, ultimately, that the movie’s pervasively affable atmosphere is heightened and perpetuated by the almost unusually strong work from its stars, as the four actors effectively (and thoroughly) transform their respective characters into personable, charismatic figures that work well both together and apart – with, especially, Mechlowicz delivering a fantastic, anchoring turn as the movie’s put-upon central character (although this is to take nothing away from Pitts, Trachtenberg, and Wester’s efforts as Scotty’s loyal friends). The final result is a top-notch comedy that moves at a brisk pace and contains very few lulls, and it is, in the end, certainly quite difficult not to lament the film’s lackluster box office results (ie we should be on the third or fourth sequel by now).

***1/2 out of ****

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