Eurotrip

Genuinely funny teen sex romps are hard to come by since movie producers know the target audience has fairly low standards. As long as the movie hits a few choice gross-out jokes, provides a handful of topless girls, and keeps costs down (usually by casting unknowns), a profit is virtually guaranteed from whatever allowance money college freshmen don't spend on beer. But filmmaker Jeff Schaffer's ribald and riotous Eurotrip is smart about being stupid--and that makes a big difference. Yes, the comedy's paper-thin plot eventually collapses under the cumulative weight of its contrivances and coincidences. But until its tasteless last-act crash-and-burn, the nude-beach, absinthe and hash-brownie escapades of four pals, fresh out of high school and loose on the Continent, had me laughing out loud. Why this one cracked me up when, say, the more crass Old School and the American Pie flicks failed to may just be a matter of taste. But its frivolous flavor and moments of cheeky imagination suggest that the folks behind the camera here cared about more than just selling shallow frat boys tickets to another insipid sex farce. A strong optional purchase. [Note: Available in widescreen and full screen “unrated” versions and a full screen “R”-rated version, DVD extras on the extended, unrated cut include two audio commentaries by production team Jeff Schaffer, David Mandel, and Alec Berg: one is technical, the other is a “Party Along” commentary (a drinking game-styled slurry sort of commentary), 13 deleted scenes with optional commentary (18 min.), a five-minute gag reel, a three-minute alternate ending with optional commentary, nude scene and unrated scene indexes, the six-minute featurette “Nude Beach Exposed,” a four-minute bootleg review, a two-minute “How to Pick a Director” segment, a sing-along and music video for “Scotty Doesn't Know,” text script, production notes, cast/crew bios, a photo gallery, and a soundtrack spot. Bottom line: lots of extras--some of which are admittedly brain-dead--for a guilty pleasure flick.] (R. Blackwelder)