''Road Trip'' is a 2000 American

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

sex comedy Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

film directed by

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...

and written by

Scot Armstrong Scot Armstrong is an American screenwriter, Film director, director, and Film producer, producer. He is credited with writing or co-writing numerous comedy films, including ''Old School (film), Old School'', ''The Hangover: Part II'', ''Semi-Pro ...

and Phillips. The film stars

Breckin Meyer Breckin Erin Meyer (born May 7, 1974) is an American actor, musician, writer and producer, known for his roles in films such as ''Clueless'' (1995), ''Road Trip'' (2000), ''Rat Race'' (2001), and '' Garfield: The Movie'' (2004), he's also known f ...

Seann William Scott Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Steve Stifler in the '' American Pie'' franchise, and also for his role as Doug Glatt in both ''Goon'' and '' Goon: Last of the Enforcers''. He has also ...

Paulo Costanzo Paulo Costanzo (born September 21, 1978) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (Ax) in the TV series ''Animorphs'', the roles of Rubin Carver in the comedy film ''Road Trip'', Alexander Cabot in ''Josie and ...

, and

DJ Qualls Donald Joseph Qualls (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in films including ''Road Trip'' (2000), ''The New Guy'' (2002) and ''The Core'' (2003), and for several appearances on television series such as '' B ...

as four college friends who embark on an road trip to retrieve an illicit tape mistakenly mailed to a girlfriend. The film gathered a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

over the years.

Plot

A college student, Barry, gives a tour of his college to prospective students and their families as he relates a story about his friends to the visitors. Josh Parker and Tiffany Henderson are childhood friends turned high-school sweethearts, and try for a long-distance relationship as he goes to the University of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

and she goes to the University of Austin. Eventually their long-distance relationship begins to deteriorate. Josh becomes insecure when he cannot regularly reach Tiffany by the phone. Fearing infidelity, Josh begins sending Tiffany video-taped messages. Josh asks his friend and roommate Rubin to mail his latest tape to Tiffany before leaving for his Ancient Philosophy class. Josh's

Ancient Philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ...

professor tells him he needs a B+ on his mid-term to pass the class. Josh's best friend, E.L., convinces Josh to stop worrying about Tiffany and notice the beautiful Beth Wagner. Beth is in love with Josh, much to the chagrin of Jacob, a self-important Ancient Philosophy T.A. who is obsessed with her. Later, E.L. throws a party where he auctions off several female students, including Beth. Scared of Jacob, she convinces Josh to outbid him. Josh and Beth escape to his room and record themselves having sex on his camcorder. The next morning, Josh tells his friends that he slept with Beth. When his friends do not believe him, Josh mentions that he has ‘evidence.’ Josh’s friends immediately play his camcorder tape expecting to see Josh and Beth having sex, only to find love letters and songs performed for Tiffany. Josh believes that Rubin mailed the sex tape to Tiffany. Josh then hears a voicemail from Tiffany saying that she has not called as her grandfather has died and she will be away from school until Monday. With E.L. and Rubin, Josh asks Kyle to tag along on a road trip, as he needs his car. Kyle is a shy loner who lives in constant fear of his overly strict father, Earl Edwards, the car's owner. They head out to drive the 1,800 miles to Austin and back in three days, leaving their friend Barry to take care of Mitch, their

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

. After leaving the interstate in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

for what they thought was a "shortcut", they find a small bridge collapsed, realizing they will waste five hours backtracking. E.L. and Rubin convince them to jump the gap. Kyle objects but they proceed. They make it across, but the car is wrecked. They continue on foot, stopping at a motel. Rubin tries to buy

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

from the unsympathetic motel clerk, but is informed that Kyle's credit card is maxed out. Looking for transportation, E.L. persuades a blind woman, Brenda, at a school for the blind, into letting him take a bus for 'repairs', and they resume the journey. Meanwhile, Kyle's father, Earl, discovers the card is maxed. Believing Kyle has been kidnapped, Earl begins searching for him when told by the police that the car was found wrecked and he is missing. As Josh's books were destroyed in the car wreck, he calls his professor to ask for an extension on his midterm exam. Jacob answers the phone, impersonating the professor and granting a fake extension. Meanwhile Beth has taken the bus to Boston University, because Barry thought Josh went to Boston instead of Austin. Beth tells a different Tiffany that she has cheated with her boyfriend and Tiffany trashes her boyfriend's car and beats him up. They have a series of misadventures on the way: Kyle loses his virginity at a

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

; Josh and E.L. raise money making deposits at a

sperm bank A sperm bank, semen bank, or cryobank is a facility or enterprise which purchases, stores and sells human semen. The semen is produced and sold by men who are known as sperm donors. The sperm is purchased by or for other persons for the purpose o ...

, where E.L. is assisted by an attractive nurse; and they visit Barry's grandparents, where Rubin gets high with Barry's grandfather. When Barry feeds the snake, Beth comes looking for Josh again; he tells her Josh has feelings for her. Jacob walks in, telling her Josh is about to fail Philosophy (as he was led to believe he could retake the exam). Mitch bites Barry's hand, causing a vicious struggle, ending with Mitch landing on Jacob, squeezing his neck until he loses consciousness. Finally getting to Austin and Tiffany's dorm, Josh intercepts the tape, just as she arrives. Earl also bursts in, furious over the car and the credit card, threatening to drag Kyle back with him. Kyle finally stands up to him, stating that he is going back to school with his friends. Earl assaults him and a mini-riot ensues. Josh and Tiffany retreat to talk, then Beth calls to warn him (he has 48 hours to get back to school or else he will fail his midterm, the course and possibly be kicked out of college – Jacob tricked him). While Josh talks on the phone, Tiffany starts to watch the tape, which luckily is nothing but Barry mooning the camera. She and Josh agree to break up, remaining friends. Then Josh and crew rush back, just in time to take his midterm – with a little help from Beth, who called in a bomb threat. As Barry closes the movie by completing the visitors' tour, he confirms that: Josh passed the course; Josh and Beth are still together (happily making videos); Jacob eventually dies as result of leading a cult staging a mass suicide, which no one but himself carried out; Rubin became a successful marijuana cultivator; E.L., inspired by his sperm donation, began dating a pre-med student; and Kyle reconciled with his father. The credits roll while Barry dry-humps a mother from the tour group in the middle of campus.

Cast

as Josh Parker *

as E.L. Faldt *

as Rubin Carver *

as Kyle Edwards *

Amy Smart Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. A native of Los Angeles, Smart began her career modelling in Italy and subsequently enrolled in acting school. Her first role in film was in director Martin Kunert's anthology horror ...

as Beth Wagner *

Rachel Blanchard Rachel Blanchard (born 19 March 1976) is a Canadian actress.Rachel Blanchard's bio
at ...

as Tiffany Henderson, Josh's long-distance girlfriend *

Tom Green Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...

as Barry Manilow, the college tour guide and narrator of the film *

Anthony Rapp Anthony Deane Rapp (born October 26, 1971) is an American actor and singer who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of ''Rent''. Following his original performance of the role in 1996, Rapp reprised it in the film version ...

as Jacob Schultz *

Fred Ward Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', ''Southern Comfort'', '' The R ...

as Earl Edwards *

Andy Dick Andrew Roane Dick (born Andrew Thomlinson; December 21, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, musician, and television and film producer. Known professionally as a comic, his first regular television role was on the short-lived but influential ...

as Motel Clerk *

Ethan Suplee Ethan Suplee (; born May 25, 1976) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''American History X'', ''Remember the Titans'', ''John Q'', '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', ''Without a Paddle'', and several ...

as Ed Bradford *

Jaclyn DeSantis Jaclyn DeSantis is an American actress. She is best known for playing Maggie on the NBC television series Windfall. Early life Jaclyn was born in Long Island, New York. She attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and Mass Arts in Bos ...

as Heather *

Jessica Cauffiel Jessica Cauffiel (born March 30, 1976) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Margot in ''Legally Blonde'' (2001) and Tori in ''White Chicks'' (2004). She is also known as a scream queen for her roles in the slash ...

as Wrong Tiffany Henderson *

Omar J. Dorsey Omar J. Dorsey (born December 22, 1975) is an American actor. He has appeared in films '' The Blind Side'' (2009), ''Django Unchained'' (2012), and '' Selma'' (2014) playing James Orange. In 2016, Dorsey began starring as Hollingsworth "Holly ...

as Lawrence * Mia Amber Davis as Rhonda *

Mary Lynn Rajskub Mary Lynn Rajskub (; born June 22, 1971) is an American actress and comedian who is best known for portraying Chloe O'Brian in the action thriller series '' 24'', and the character Gail the Snail in ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia''. Rajskub ...

as Blind Brenda *

Kohl Sudduth Walter Kohl Sudduth (born August 8, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Luther "Suitcase" Simpson in nine Jesse Stone television films.

as Mark * Wendell B. Harris Jr. as Professor Anderson *

Rini Bell Honorine Bell is an American actress. Career Bell has been in movies such as '' Ghost World'', ''The Terminal'', ''Bring It On'', '' Road Trip'', Baja Beach Bums, and '' Jarhead''. She had a recurring role on ''Gilmore Girls'' playing Lulu, a lo ...

as Carla, Tiffany's roommate * Edmund Lyndeck as Jack Manilow, Barry's grandfather *

Ellen Albertini Dow Ellen Rose Albertini Dow (November 16, 1913 – May 4, 2015) was an American film and television character actress and drama coach. She portrayed feisty old ladies and is best known as the rapping grandmother Rosie in ''The Wedding Singer'' ( ...

as Mrs. Manilow, Barry's grandmother *

Horatio Sanz Horacio Sanz (born June 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Horatio Sanz, is a Chilean-born American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006. Early life Sanz was born on June 4, 1969 in Santi ...

as French Toast Guy *

Rhoda Griffis Rhoda Griffis (born January 9, 1965) is an American actress who has played supporting roles both in independent and mainstream films and television. Life and career Griffis appeared onstage in ''Angels in America'', '' Proof'', '' Collected Sto ...

as Tour Group Mom *

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

as Corky the dog (voice) *

as Clayton * Marla Sucharetza as Sperm Bank Nurse

Production

The fictional 'University of Ithaca' is based on both

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, each located in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

. Filming took place from October 16, 1999 to December 27, 1999 on the campuses of

Woodward Academy Woodward Academy (also known as Woodward or WA) is an independent, co-educational college-preparatory school for pre-kindergarten to 12th grade on two campuses located in College Park and Johns Creek, Georgia, United States, within the Atlanta m ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, and the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. The university seen in a flyover in the opening scene is actually

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

; the same footage was later used in the film '' Old School'' in 2003. The diner scene was shot in

Lawrenceville, Georgia Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately northeast of downtown. As of the 2020 census, the population of Lawrenceville was 30,629. In 2019, the ...

at the Gwinnett Diner, as it says on the coffee mugs. One of the final scenes of the tour was filmed at Founders Park at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Release

Critical reception

Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives ''Road Trip'' an approval rating of 57% based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Some humor is hit or miss, depending on the audience tastes, but the movie is funny overall. Mixed reviews for the cast, especially for MTV's Tom Green."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

assigned the film a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". At the 2000

Stinkers Bad Movie Awards The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards (formerly known as the ''Hastings Bad Cinema Society'') was a Los Angeles-based group of film buffs and film critics devoted to honoring the worst films of the year. The society was founded by Mike Lancaster and Ray ...

, Green won both Worst Supporting Actor and Most Unfunny Comic Relief for his role in both this film and ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

''. The film itself also received a nomination for Oldest Looking Teenagers, but lost to ''

Remember the Titans ''Remember the Titans'' is a 2000 American biographical sports film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denzel W ...

''.

Box office

The film opened on May 19, 2000, alongside ''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

'' and ''

Small Time Crooks ''Small Time Crooks'' is a 2000 American crime-comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, the film's plot has some similarities to that of the 1942 comedy ''Larceny, Inc.''Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies on June 15, 2006 It stars Alle ...

''. It was ranked No. 3 at the North American box office behind ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' and ''Dinosaur'', making

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

15,484,004, in its opening weekend.

Sequel

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

entitled ''

Beer Pong Beer pong, also known as Beirut, is a drinking game in which players throw a ping pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in a cup of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of opposing teams of two or more player ...

'' was released on August 11, 2009, this time by Paramount Famous Productions as

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

had acquired DreamWorks' back catalog in its (since undone) 2006 purchase of the company.Trailer for Road Trip II: Beer Pong Arrives
Only two of the original cast or crew appear in the sequel film,

as Kyle Edwards and

as Tour Group Mom.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Road Trip 2000 films 2000s comedy road movies 2000s road movies 2000s teen sex comedy films American road movies American sex comedy films American teen comedy films American comedy road movies DreamWorks Pictures films 2000s English-language films Films about fraternities and sororities Films directed by Todd Phillips Films set in Austin, Texas Films set in New York (state) Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state) Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Massachusetts Films shot in New York (state) Films with screenplays by Todd Phillips Films with screenplays by Scot Armstrong The Montecito Picture Company films 2000 directorial debut films 2000 comedy films 2000s American films