Ultimate 2000s Blogathon Kick-Off: EuroTrip (2004)

Hello, friends! Welcome to the fourth annual Ultimate Decades Blogathon! This year’s spotlight decade is the 2000s. Over the next few weeks, my wonderful co-host Kim from Tranquil Dreams and I will be posting reviews from our fellow bloggers highlighting their favorite films from the decade. Kim kicked off the blogathon on her site with her review of SPL: Kill Zone, which you should definitely go check out. Now it’s my turn to get things started! Here is my review of EuroTrip.

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Synopsis
After Scott (Scott Mechlowicz) is dumped by his girlfriend at high school graduation, he decides to take a trip to Europe, accompanied by his best friend, Cooper (Jacob Pitts), to meet his pen pal, Mieke (Jessica Boehrs).

Review
As per usual for my opening entry of an Ultimate Decades Blogathon, here are several reasons why I think EuroTrip is an excellent snapshot of the first decade of the millennium:

1. The technology. Early in the new century, everything was getting smaller and thinner. Cell phones were becoming more common and more pocket-sized even if still a little blocky compared to today’s smart phones. Also, computers were getting thinner, whether it was the monitors or laptops.
   
2. The hairstyles. Many girls had shoulder-length hair and it wasn’t uncommon to see some highlights, especially in the bangs. Also at the time, it was popular for guys to use product to spike their hair or style it into a faux-hawk.
   
3. The fashion. Throughout the film, you’ll find Jenny in many popular clothing choices of the time. She wears belly shirts, tube tops, capris, and boot-cut jeans. In terms of makeup, she also uses lip gloss pretty heavily.
   
4. Meeting someone online. With more and more households getting access to the internet in the early 2000s, meeting someone online was becoming more widespread. Like today, there are many warnings about who the person is on the other side of the screen (as Cooper eloquently illustrated to Scott). While meeting someone online today is pretty common, given the popularity of dating apps and online video games, it was more of a novelty during the late 90s early 2000s. Because of the freshness of online communication during this time, many films that have this as a central part of the plot (You’ve Got Mail, EuroTrip, Sex Drive), can be found around this time period.

While EuroTrip was released in the height of films such as Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story or Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, it stands out by not utilizing the extreme slapstick humor popular at the time. It is most certainly irreverent, raunchy, and immature but what else would you expect from a movie about teens going on a road trip to get laid? As you might have guessed from the title, this movie is a road trip movie and the writers make excellent use of this format. Each scene is unique and filled with different gags and jokes. Different characters come and go, leaving their mark with what little time they have. Regardless of what extra characters are in the scene, Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Travis Wester are absolutely hilarious. Their chemistry is what elevates this movie to pure comedy greatness, filling every scene to the brim with laughs. This film never takes itself too seriously, always letting the craziness and absurdity of the script flow. It knows it’s crude, it knows it’s vulgar. Why pretend otherwise?

I thought EuroTrip was GREAT 😀 It is exactly what you would anticipate from a teen sex comedy, so don’t expect anything groundbreaking. However, the cast elevate a great, even if predictable, script. If you’re like me and enjoy similar movies, such as Old School or Accepted, you’ll enjoy EuroTrip.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Jeff Schaffer – Director / Writer
Alec Berg – Co-Director / Writer
David Mandel – Co-Director / Writer
James L. Venable – Composer

Scott Mechlowicz – Scott Thomas
Jacob Pitts – Cooper Harris
Michelle Trachtenberg – Jenny
Travis Wester – Jamie
Jeffery Tambor – Scott’s Dad
Cathy Meils – Mrs. Thomas
Mial Iskhakov – Bert
Kristen Kreuk – Fiona
Matt Damon – Donny
Jessica Boehrs – Mieke
Vinnie Jones – Mad Maynard
JP Manoux – Robot Man
Patrick Rapold – Christoph
Fred Armisen – Creepy Italian Guy
Lucy Lawless – Madame Vandersexxx
Rade Serbedzija – Tibor

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Stop by our blogs daily to see who shows up next and what they consider to be the ultimate 2000s film. Use the tag #ultimate00sblogathon to share your comments or entries for the blogathon on twitter. If you miss any of the entries, Kim is keeping an aggregated list on her site, which you can check out here.