Road Trip (film)

Plot

Josh and Tiffany were long time friends and high school sweethearts. They both had to face a long distance relationship when Josh enrolls to University of Ithaca and Tiffany enrolls to the University of Austin. They made a promise to be true to each other and call each other every day. But when Tiffany doesn't call Josh or answer any of his calls, Josh begins worrying that Tiffany is seeing another man (actually, her maternal grandfather died). To show that he is still in love with her, he makes a daily recorded video log to her. After a one-night stand with his friend Beth, Josh discovers that his sex with Beth has been taped, and, through a series of misunderstandings, the tape was sent to Tiffany instead of his latest blog entry. This prompts a road trip in which Josh and his friends set out for Austin to intercept the tape before Tiffany gets a chance to view it.

Production

The fictional University of Ithaca is based on both Ithaca College and Cornell University both located in Ithaca, New York. Filming took place on the campuses of Woodward Academy, Georgia Tech, Emory University, and the University of Georgia. The university seen in a flyover in the opening scene is actually Harvard University, the same footage was later used in the film Old School in 2003. The diner scene was shot in Lawrenceville, Georgia 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.

Critical reception

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 57% based on 91 reviews. The consensus is: "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." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 32 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Box office

The film was released on May 19, 2000, concurrently with "Dinosaur" and "Small Time Crooks." It debuted at number three at the North American box office, earning $15,484,004 during its opening weekend.

Sequel

A direct-to-video sequel entitled Beer Pong was released on August 11, 2009, this time by Paramount Famous Productions as Paramount Pictures had acquired DreamWorks' back catalog in its 2006 purchase of the company (since undone). Only two of the original cast or crew appear in the sequel film, DJ Qualls as Kyle Edwards and Rhoda Griffis as Tour Group Mom.