National Lampoon's Senior Trip

National Lampoon's Senior Trip
Directed by	Kelly Makin
Produced by	Wendy Grean Peter Morgan
Written by	Roger Kumble I. Marlene King
Starring	Matt Frewer Tara Strong Lawrence Dane Jeremy Renner Rob Moore Eric Edwards Tommy Chong Kevin McDonald Danny Smith Michael Blake
Production company	Alliance Films
Distributed by	New Line Cinema^1
Release dates	September 8, 1995
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$4,686,937 (Worldwide)

National Lampoon's Senior Trip is a 1995 American teen comedy film directed by Kelly Makin and is also Jeremy Renner's debut role. It is part of the National Lampoon series.

Plot

At Fairmount High School, Ohio, a group of rude and obnoxious seniors begins their school with an assembly featuring a band called "High on Life" though the student body shows lack of response due to the choice of music playing in front of them. As the band continues to play onstage, Mark "Dags" D'Agastino (Jeremy Renner) and Reggie Barry (Rob Moore) decide to sabotage the assembly by having a track played and exposing the band lip syncing their music as it ends drastically but upbeat. After a typing class, the seniors cut school and throw a party at the home of Principal Moss (Matt Frewer). Moss eventually gets informed about the party from the school body president Steve Nisser (Sergio Di Zio). When he returns home, he gives the group detention, forcing them to write a letter to the President of the United States, explaining what is wrong with the education system.

The next day while arriving at the school, Principal Moss along with the new typing class teacher (Valerie Mahaffey) notices that various newspaper station vans are there assuming that something has gone wrong within the building then finds out from Mrs. Winston that Jason Lerman (Lawrence Dane) in his dismay is inside the building, where after meeting the seniors, he makes the announcement over them being invited by the President of Washington, D.C., who amazingly enjoyed their letter to discuss it. However, it is actually just a plot devised by the corrupt U.S. Senator to humiliate the President. Upon their journey, the class stops in a convenience store where Dags and Reggie lock Principal Moss in a flooded convenience store toilet so they can steal alcohol from the store. They are followed by Travis (Kevin McDonald), a crazed Star Trek fan and crossing guard, who hitches a ride with an Asian family. While on their way, Principal Moss falls into a "coma" after taking pills given to him by Red (Tommy Chong), the bus driver. At this point, the students go on a rampage celebrating over Moss passing out and throw another party, while Carla Morgan (Tara Strong), the school slut, puts makeup on the sleeping Principal Moss.

The next morning, the bus is pursued by both Travis and the police. Red suddenly dies, apparently from a drug overdose, and the bus nearly plows into a lake. Dags manages to stop it in time, but Travis's ride is not so lucky. In the confusion, Travis escapes. Arriving at Washington, the group checks into a hotel and then decides to take a class photo at a cemetery; it goes wrong when Miosky (Eric Edwards) blows out J. Edgar Hoover's flame via fart lighting, catching Travis on fire in the process. That night back at the hotel, the seniors secretly lace a box of chocolates with tequila and give it to Miss Milford, subsequently leaving and going to a party at another hotel while Miss Milford seduces Principal Moss in a drunken stupor. In the process, Lisa Perkins (Fiona Loewi) discovers the plot to use the students to embarrass the President.

The next morning, Senator Lerman unexpectedly wakes up Principal Moss and Miss Milford, who— much to their shock over both of them in the same room—to prepare themselves and the seniors for their meeting with the President. However, when they open the room, they do not find them there but only a tied-up Steve Nisser. Moss and Milford find the missing students the next morning as they are informed of Lerman's plot as Lerman baffles to the discovery. The senator subsequently kidnaps Miosky and takes him to the White House with the others in hot pursuit. When they arrive at the White House, the senator insults the seniors, but Principal Moss unexpectedly stands up for them. The senator's plot is ultimately exposed, and the seniors go home. The film ends with a montage of the characters and where they ended up after its events.

Cast

• Matt Frewer as Principal Todd Moss, an unassertive nerdy principal who is constantly undermined by the students, especially Dags and Reggie, who do everything from inadvertently smashing into a flag pole which lands on his new Buick to throwing a senior party at his home. Moss was acquitted for sexual harassment charges brought by Miss Milford.
• Valerie Mahaffey as Miss Tracy Milford, a new sexually repressed keyboard teacher who is a bit naive regarding the students' motives and activities. After retiring from Fairmount Miss Milford went to work as the head waitress at a Hooters restaurant in Dayton, Ohio.
• Lawrence Dane as Senator John Lerman, a conniving U.S. senator and political rival to the President of the United States.
• Tommy Chong as Red, a constantly stoned, drug addict bus driver.
• Jeremy Renner as Mark "Dags" D'Agostino, underachieving stoner who constantly get under Principal Moss' skin and looks for a way to throw a subversive party. After graduating Fairmount, Dags was appointed Junior Ambassador to Italy, but was unfortunately thrown out of the country after accidentally setting the Vatican on fire.
• Rob Moore as Reggie Barry, underachieving stoner who constantly get under Principal Moss' skin and looks for a way to throw a subversive party. After graduating Fairmount, Reggie and Wanda went to co-manage the Bongzilla Head Shop in Venice, California.
• Eric "Sparky" Edwards as Miosky, an obese eating mechanic party animal. Miosky went on to do nothing after graduating from Fairmount.
• Kevin McDonald as Travis Lindsey, an idiosyncratic, Star Trek-fixated loner, whose entire goal is to intercept and annihilate Reggie who earlier insults him in the beginning. After his repeated failed attempts to annihilate Reggie, Travis took a job at the U.S. Postal Service.
• Michael Blake as Herbert Jones, a politically incorrect cynicist, antisocial bookworm who wears all-black clothing and is also an aspiring musician. After graduating Fairmount, Herbert became a Hare Krishna and sings and dances in airports throughout the world.
• Tara Charendoff as Carla Morgan, a provocative, attractive and promiscuous party girl. After graduating Fairmount, Carla opened a successful chain of nude aerobics clubs.
• Nicole DeBoer as Meg Smith, a token lesbian. After graduating Fairmount, Meg became a traveling masseuse on the Professional Female Golf Tour.
• Sergio Di Zio as Steve Nisser, a preppy, stuck-up student body president whom Principal Moss assigns to spy on Dags and his friends' activities. Steve became an assistant road manager for High On Life.
• Fiona Loewi as Lisa Perkins, a class brain and goody two-shoes who is in love with Dags. After graduating Fairmount, Lisa went to Princeton and graduated Magna Cum Laude and is addicted to Prozac.
• Kathryn Rose as Wanda Baker, a reserved reticent headcase and Reggie's pot-smoking counterpart. After graduating Fairmount, Wanda and Reggie went to co-manage the Bongzilla Head Shop in Venice, California.
• Danny Smith as Barry "Virus" Kemmer, a perverted, porn-obsessed computer nerd with a low alcoholic tolerance. After graduating Fairmount, Virus became a multi-millionaire producer of pornographic CD-Roms.
• Kay Tremblay as Mrs. Winston, an elderly teacher at Fairmont High School.
• Wayne Robson as Frank Hardin
• George R. Robertson as President Davis
• Rachel Wilson as Teen Girl (Susie)

Reception

Box office

The film opened to $2,184,901 from 1,397 theaters with the average to 1,563 per site. The United States had $3,686,337; it was 78% of the total gross of the film. The overseas gross was $1,000,600 and it brought the film to $4,686,937.

Critical response

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews, earning a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes website, but it currently holds a B grade at Yahoo! Movies.

Footnotes

1. ^ The film's distribution rights were transferred to Warner Bros. in 2008.

External links

• National Lampoon's Senior Trip at the Internet Movie Database
• National Lampoon's Senior Trip at AllMovie
• National Lampoon's Senior Trip at Rotten Tomatoes
• National Lampoon's Senior Trip at Box Office Mojo