Where did this movie go wrong? Where do I start?
1.) In being made by National Lampoon, it appeared to try way too hard to be "Animal House". There was a stupid fat guy, an uptight head of the school, a straight laced honor student, and the rest of the student got drunk and/or stoned. There was one militant black guy that would have made an interesting character, but his character was pushed to the back too often. Above all, you didn't feel any sort of sympathy for the main characters, which is why the movie didn't play out very well.
2.) The principal was unnecessarily stupid. When the "evil" senator threatened to have the principal revoked from his job, I didn't blame him. The principal character should have been the moral center of the story, the only sane person in an insane situation. That kind of situation makes for uproarious laughter, and it's something the writers, not to mention the actor who played him, should have taken into account.
3.) The title of the movie didn't fit. Yes the students were seniors, and yes they were going on a trip, making the title "Senior Trip" sound obvious enough. However, the title made you think that every senior was going on this trip, which was not true. Plus, the students didn't embark on the trip until halfway through the movie, since the premise took too long to extrapolate before the movie's main premise got underway. In my opinion, the beginning scene with the "High On Life" band was completely unnecessary, not to mention not funny. I'm not a stoner, and I would have booed that band.
4.) The movie employed too many movie clichés which weighed down the potential hilarity of the movie, from the uptight teacher getting her hands on alcohol to the undeserved slow clapping to the unnecessary epilogue at the end of the movie. One could argue that it was parodying other movies, but this movie didn't appear to parody anything.
5.) Kevin McDonald. Simply putting him in any movie is a bad idea. Sure he was funny when he was with the Kids In The Hall, but nearly every movie he has been in has sucked, from "The Godson" to "The Ladies Man" to this movie. Plus, his character wasn't necessary to the movie, and you had no clue why he was chasing these kids to D.C. other than the fact that he had nothing better to do. If there is a plus side to his character, it reminds you that hardcore Trekkies are too damn annoying to function properly in today's society.
I did buy this movie for $8.00 in a special "Double Feature" edition with "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1" on the other side of the disc. At least four of my dollars didn't go to waste.
1.) In being made by National Lampoon, it appeared to try way too hard to be "Animal House". There was a stupid fat guy, an uptight head of the school, a straight laced honor student, and the rest of the student got drunk and/or stoned. There was one militant black guy that would have made an interesting character, but his character was pushed to the back too often. Above all, you didn't feel any sort of sympathy for the main characters, which is why the movie didn't play out very well.
2.) The principal was unnecessarily stupid. When the "evil" senator threatened to have the principal revoked from his job, I didn't blame him. The principal character should have been the moral center of the story, the only sane person in an insane situation. That kind of situation makes for uproarious laughter, and it's something the writers, not to mention the actor who played him, should have taken into account.
3.) The title of the movie didn't fit. Yes the students were seniors, and yes they were going on a trip, making the title "Senior Trip" sound obvious enough. However, the title made you think that every senior was going on this trip, which was not true. Plus, the students didn't embark on the trip until halfway through the movie, since the premise took too long to extrapolate before the movie's main premise got underway. In my opinion, the beginning scene with the "High On Life" band was completely unnecessary, not to mention not funny. I'm not a stoner, and I would have booed that band.
4.) The movie employed too many movie clichés which weighed down the potential hilarity of the movie, from the uptight teacher getting her hands on alcohol to the undeserved slow clapping to the unnecessary epilogue at the end of the movie. One could argue that it was parodying other movies, but this movie didn't appear to parody anything.
5.) Kevin McDonald. Simply putting him in any movie is a bad idea. Sure he was funny when he was with the Kids In The Hall, but nearly every movie he has been in has sucked, from "The Godson" to "The Ladies Man" to this movie. Plus, his character wasn't necessary to the movie, and you had no clue why he was chasing these kids to D.C. other than the fact that he had nothing better to do. If there is a plus side to his character, it reminds you that hardcore Trekkies are too damn annoying to function properly in today's society.
I did buy this movie for $8.00 in a special "Double Feature" edition with "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1" on the other side of the disc. At least four of my dollars didn't go to waste.