Eurotrip   
 

Scott Thomas: Scott Mechlowicz

Cooper Harris: Jacob Pitts

Jenny: Michelle Trachtenberg

Jamie: Travis Wester

 

Directed by Jeff Schaffer

Written by Alec Berg & David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer
About halfway through watching Eurotrip, I started laughing uncontrollably.  I couldn't stop.  However, it was not because what I was seeing on the screen was funny.  At that point in the movie, I finally realized that it was not going to get any better, and it was so embarrassingly bad that I had to laugh at the miserable attempt to make a comedy.

The premise is simple enough.  American high school student Scott graduates and plans on working for his dad all summer.  However, he mistakes his female German penpal for a guy and writes a nasty response to her attempt to arrange a meeting.  When he realizes how much he loves her and how beautiful she is, he and his friend head to Europe to find her.  They meet up with some friends (twins Jenny and Jamie), set off across the continent together, and get involved in various situations.

Most of these things that happen to them are cringe-inducing.  A nude beach, soccer hooligans, a stranger on a train, a trip to the Vatican, and, of course, the obvious language barrier mix-ups.  Aside from not being funny, the film keeps going back to the same jokes as if they were funny the first time.  It reminds me of the guy who tells a story, gets no laughter from his audience, and insists on telling it one more time in case you missed it. 

Sometimes the scenes go on for too long.  For example, while waiting in line for The Louvre, Scott gets into a fight with a street robot in a scene that goes on for at least five minutes or more.  The initial premise of this was kind of amusing, but the director insists on staying with it too long to where it just becomes awkward and painful to sit through.

There were a couple of funny bits involving a cameo by Matt Damon and Scott's computer e-mail message, but those came near the beginning of the movie.  Everything went downhill from there  And just when you think it can't get any worse, it does.  Complete with the happy ending where every character gets exactly what you would expect and predict from the start.