Where to watch National Lampoon’s Senior Trip
2 Stars
While on detention, a group of misfits and slackers have to write a letter to the President explaining what is wrong with the education system. There is only one problem, the President loves it! Hence, the group must travel to Washington to meet the Main Man.
The peak of National Lampoon’s movies lasted just over a decade, from 1978 to 1989. By the time Senior Trip came out in the mid-90s, it was clear that the brand had lost some of its edge. The film’s 90 minutes are sparsely populated with laughs, making it an inconsistent viewing experience. However, the movie continues the tradition of wild hijinks and irreverence toward authority and social norms characteristic of National Lampoon’s films. Senior Trip along with Vegas Vacation signaled a clear intention by NL to move away from the raunchiness of their earlier hit movies and into younger-skewing fare with these tamed-down pictures.
A teenage Jeremy Renner and his buddy Rob Moore front a cast of largely unknown talent, save for the typically manic and quite amusing antics of Matt Frewer. Frewer was Jim Carrey before we had Ace Ventura, and once the TV star became a movie star, Matt Frewer seemed to have disappeared from screens quickly. Roger Kumble, most notable for his work on Cruel Intentions and The Sweetest Thing, is the author of the screenplay, which does have a half dozen memorable gags. My favorite is a running subplot in which Kevin McDonald is a vengeful trekkie out for revenge against the school kids.
Directed by: Kelly Makin
Written by: Roger Kumble, I. Marlene King
Starring: Matt Frewer, Valerie Mahaffey, Lawrence Dane