AllMovie

The fiction-film debut of controversial documentary filmmaker Todd Phillips is this raunchy teen sex comedy that wants to be considered in the same breath as Animal House (1978). Although offering a handful of genuinely amusing moments, Road Trip is not nearly as funny as its forebear. Where Animal House launched the careers of legendary comic figures such as John Landis, John Belushi, Karen Allen, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, and Tom Hulce, Road Trip is cast with a plethora of bland, colorless actors who are virtually indistinguishable from each other. The standout exceptions are D.J. Qualls as the hopelessly inept and nerdy Kyle (the character who probably should have been the centerpiece of the film) and the typically bizarre Tom Green, who performs his trademark from-Mars shtick to good effect. Any film that top-lines Breckin Meyer while relegating the talented Anthony Rapp to a small supporting cameo should be viewed with a healthy skepticism.