Road Trip is a 2000 American movie about a road trip. It was directed by Todd Phillips, who made it for the first time, and written by Scot Armstrong and Phillips. The main actors are Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Paulo Costanzo, and DJ Qualls. Amy Smart, Tom Green, Rachel Blanchard, and Fred Ward also appear in the movie. The story follows Josh Parker, played by Meyer, who asks three college friends to join him on a 1,800-mile (2,900 km) trip to get back an illegal tape that was accidentally sent to his girlfriend, Tiffany, played by Blanchard.
The movie was released in theaters by DreamWorks Pictures on May 19, 2000. Some critics liked it, while others did not. However, it was a financial success, earning $119.8 million worldwide with a budget of $16 million. Over time, the movie has gained a loyal fan group.
In 2004, DreamWorks released EuroTrip (originally called Ugly Americans), which is seen as a similar movie to Road Trip. Before its release, DreamWorks changed the title to match Road Trip to take advantage of its popularity. A direct-to-video sequel called Road Trip: Beer Pong was released on August 11, 2009, with DJ Qualls returning in his role.
Plot
Josh Parker and Tiffany Henderson are childhood friends who become high-school sweethearts. They try to stay in a long-distance relationship when Josh attends the University of Ithaca and Tiffany goes to the University of Austin. Josh feels nervous because he cannot often talk to Tiffany by phone. He worries she might be unfaithful and starts sending her recorded messages.
Josh asks his friend and roommate, Rubin, to mail one of his latest tapes to Tiffany before leaving for his Ancient Philosophy class. His professor tells him he needs a B+ on his midterm exam to pass the class. Josh’s best friend, E.L., encourages him to stop worrying about Tiffany and pay attention to Beth Wagner, who is very interested in Josh.
Jacob, the Ancient Philosophy teaching assistant, is upset because Beth is in love with Josh. Later, E.L. throws a party where he sells the chance to spend time with several female students, including Beth. Frightened by Jacob, Beth asks Josh to outbid him. Afterward, Josh and Beth go to his room and record themselves on a camcorder.
The next day, Josh tells his friends he had sex with Beth and recorded it. They play the tape, expecting to see the video, but instead find love letters and songs made for Tiffany. Josh thinks Rubin sent the wrong tape to Tiffany. He then hears a message from Tiffany explaining she hasn’t called because her grandfather passed away. With E.L. and Rubin, Josh asks Kyle, a quiet and shy boy, to join a road trip to Austin because they need his car, which belongs to his strict father, Earl.
After leaving the highway in Bedford for what they thought was a shortcut, they discover a small bridge has collapsed, forcing them to backtrack for five hours. E.L. and Rubin convince the group to jump the gap in the road. Kyle objects, but they proceed. They cross safely, but the car is damaged, destroying Josh’s philosophy textbooks.
The group continues on foot and stays at a motel. Rubin tries to buy marijuana from the motel clerk but learns Kyle’s credit card is maxed out. Searching for transportation, E.L. persuades a blind woman named Brenda, who works at a school for the blind, to let him take a bus for repairs. They continue their journey.
After many challenges, the group arrives in Austin and reaches Tiffany’s dorm. Josh stops the tape just as Tiffany arrives. Earl, Kyle’s father, enters, angry about the car damage and the credit card, threatening to take Kyle home. Kyle finally stands up to Earl, saying he will stay with his friends. Earl attacks Kyle, causing a small fight.
Josh and Tiffany talk privately, and Beth calls to warn Josh about his midterm exam. While talking on the phone, Tiffany watches the tape, which mostly shows Barry, a friend, making silly faces at the camera. She and Josh agree to end their relationship. The group returns to Ithaca just in time for Josh’s exam, with help from Beth, who calls in a bomb threat to delay the test.
Josh passes his philosophy class and starts dating Beth, who enjoys making videos. Jacob dies after leading a cult that stages a mass suicide, which only he planned. Rubin becomes a successful grower of marijuana. E.L. begins dating a pre-med student after donating sperm. Kyle starts dating Rhonda and reconciles with Earl.
Production
The fictional "University of Ithaca" is inspired by two real universities: Ithaca College and Cornell University, both located in Ithaca, New York. Filming for the movie occurred from October 16, 1999, to December 27, 1999, on the campuses of Woodward Academy, Georgia Tech, Emory University, and the University of Georgia. The university shown in a flyover during the opening scene is actually Harvard University. The same footage was later used in the 2003 DreamWorks movie Old School. The diner scene was filmed in Lawrenceville, Georgia, at the Gwinnett Diner, as shown on the coffee mugs in the scene. One of the last scenes of the tour was filmed at Founders Park on the campus of the University of Southern California.
Reception
The film opened on May 19, 2000, with Dinosaur and Small Time Crooks. It was ranked No. 3 at the North American box office, behind Gladiator and Dinosaur, earning US$15,484,004 during its opening weekend.
Review website Rotten Tomatoes gave Road Trip an approval rating of 59% based on 97 reviews, with an average score of 5.4 out of 10. The site’s critics noted that some humor may appeal to certain audiences, but the movie is generally considered funny. Reviews of the cast were mixed, with special attention given to MTV’s Tom Green. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."
At the 2000 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, Tom Green won awards for Worst Supporting Actor and Most Unfunny Comic Relief for his roles in this film and Charlie's Angels. The film itself was nominated for Oldest Looking Teenagers but lost to Remember the Titans.
In a Rotten Tomatoes article, Road Trip was ranked as the 79th best film of 2000 based on scores from their website. This ranking included both audience and critic scores for the films listed.
Home media
The film's R-rated and unrated versions were released on DVD and VHS by DreamWorks Home Entertainment in December 2000. The unrated version included more nudity, such as additional scenes showing bare breasts and scenes showing women's private areas. In February 2006, Viacom (now called Paramount Skydance) bought the rights to Road Trip and 58 other live-action films released by DreamWorks since 1997. This happened after Viacom purchased DreamWorks' live-action assets for $1.6 billion. The deal also included the rights to EuroTrip, a later live-action film from DreamWorks. Paramount Home Entertainment later released Road Trip on Blu-ray on May 12, 2012. Kino Lorber later received the rights to make a 4K UHD version of the film, which was released on June 24, 2025. This version included both the R-rated and unrated cuts, with the unrated cut featuring a new Blu-ray version created by Paramount Pictures.
The film became available on Paramount's subscription streaming service, Paramount+, which started in 2021. It is also available on Paramount's free streaming service, Pluto TV.
Sequels
A movie called EuroTrip was released on February 20, 2004. It was a follow-up to another film but was not directly connected to it. The movie received some positive and some negative reviews, and it did not earn much money at the theater.
A sequel called Beer Pong was released on August 11, 2009, by Paramount Famous Productions. This movie was made for video instead of being shown in theaters. Only two people from the original movie are in Beer Pong: DJ Qualls as Kyle Edwards and Rhoda Griffis as Tour Group Mom.