Despite the distance and the various temptations inside and outside the campus, Josh has managed to remain Mr. Faithful - until one night when he falls for the charms of Beth (Amy Smart), the prettiest girl in school. This one night of fun, however, turns into a nightmare because he agrees to have it filmed on video and the tape is mistakenly mailed to his girlfriend in Austin.
Fortunately, Josh is still in luck. His girlfriend goes out of town to attend the funeral of her grandmother and he still has the chance to retrieve the mail if he gets to Austin, Texas on time.
The only problem is how to get there ahead of Tiffany. Flying is the fastest way, but it is also the most expensive. And his meager resources simply would not allow that. The only solution is to get a car and hit the road all the way to Texas.
This he does by borrowing the car of the school nerd Kyle (DJ Qualls). Together with Kyle, he also brings along with him to the trip E.L. (Seann William Scott), who fancies himself to be a sex object and Rubin (Paulo Costanzo), a scholarly student eternally high on dope.
With all four taking turns behind the wheel, Road Trip at this point becomes a really hilarious road movie.
Road Trip is a crazy movie done in the tradition of American Pie and There’s Something About Mary. It is irreverent and wickedly funny. But don’t expect to learn any positive values from this film.
This movie, in fact, defies every rule written in any good morals and right conduct handbook. From our first day in school, for instance, we are taught to assist and, whenever possible, go the extra mile when it comes to dealing with the handicapped. One character in the movie, however, does otherwise: In an academy for the blind, he robs the administration blind by taking off with the school bus.
Then there’s the Fourth Commandment that says: Honor Thy Father and Mother. Well, leave it to this film to defy the Word of God.
In the story, you see, the nerdy guy is deathly afraid of his father. But one night of sex with a big, black woman gives him the courage and confidence to stand up to his old man. He’s become hopelessly disobedient to his parents after that.
There are also some really gross scenes in this film that could make your stomach turn. In this infamous French toast sequence, for example, the nerdy guy tells the waiter to please remove the sugar off his bread. The waiter obliges, all right. But he does this by licking the sugar off the toast with his tongue. And not content with that, he rubs the piece of bread on his bare crotch and - as a final touch - farts on it with all his might.
Other social mores defied by this movie include racism and sexual perversion.
But even if this film breaks every rule in civilized society, I am still recommending this movie to adult viewers who may want to have a good laugh or two. (Tom Green as the narrator is absurdly funny.)
Some of you may find it senseless and offensive, but that’s the way the movie is. And it makes no excuses for being such.
In my case, I’ll never regret having seen this film - all because of one sequence. This is the part where the four guys take a short cut in their desire to reach Texas at once. But alas, they come across a broken down bridge that is really impassable. Going back to take another route would make them lose five precious hours. But if they drive the car at its highest speed and fly across the bridge, they’ll make it to their destination with plenty of time. Well, they do just that and they end up with a useless wreck of a car that later blows to pieces (which was why one of them had to steal the bus from the school of the blind).
The day after I saw Road Trip, I was scheduled to go to Makati for a Startalk pictorial at the studio of Raymund Isaac. The pictorial was actually set at 7 p.m., but at a little before 6, our executive producer Rommel Gacho called me up on the phone to tell me that everyone was already there waiting for me.
In my panic, I jumped into the car and took the Mandaluyong short cut to Makati from Greenhills. But right after I had traversed through Wilson street, I discovered to my horror that the one road that I usually take to get to Shaw Blvd. was under repair. The sign said it clearly: Road Closed. Deep Excavation.
Now, I’m the type of driver who would take a deep breath, fervently recite one Our Father and drive through raging floodwaters - hoping everything would turn out well in the end. That night, in my desperation, I seriously considered driving through that closed road - unmindful of what would happen to my car. (Yes, I can be that stupid!) Good thing, I remembered that scene from Road Trip and took a longer, but safer route.
I got to the studio of Raymund Isaac a few minutes before 7 and it turned out that nothing was ready yet. (Things didn’t move until about one hour and a half later.) It was then that I heaved a sigh of relief - no not because I got there on time, but because I didn’t follow my impulsive instinct that earlier told me to drive through that impassable road.
And for that, I have Road Trip to thank. I guess in life, you pick up little lessons even from the most unlikely sources. Yes, even from a silly movie like Road Trip.