The bawdy college comedy Road Trip comes to 4K UHD with a new 4K Scan of the original camera negative from Kino Lorber.
The Film
What it is to be young, stupid, and mean.
Director Todd Phillips before he started making Joker movies understood this better than anyone. Starting with his “documentary” Frat House and most of his career for that matter Phillips made art out of mean-spirited comedy. Road Trip his first narrative feature has all the touchstones of what would make Old School, and The Hangover trilogy such comedic blockbusters in the early to mid 2000s.
Road Trip could only be made in 2000. The only time you could make a comedy about a guy (Brekin Meyer) cheating on his girlfriend, filming said cheating, accidentally mailing said tape to his girl, thus starting the road trip (of the title) to get the tape. That’s it. The film’s narrative like a demented Hope and Crosby Road movie is A to B in its logic and narrative. Yes, there’s plenty of requisite detours – a hotel ran by Andy Dick playing Andy Dick, a sperm bank, stealing a bus from a school for the blind, bus rides with toe licking perverts, conning their way into a Black Fraternity – before having to get back for the cliché final exam to ensure our hero stays in school.
The film is cast with an affable and comedic ensemble led by Brekin Meyer, Sean William Scott, DJ Qualls, and Paulo Costanzo as the core group on the road trip. Qualls steals the show as the nerdy Kyle who’s in out of his element but innocently charming. Though its Scott’s EL with his discovery of what milking is that’s still the standout hilarious scene that turns things on their ear in a sex comedy that’s pretty standard when it comes to its sex and jokes. Though its their supporting/cameos that keeps the film entertaining. Everyone from Anthony Rapp, Fred Ward, Andy Dick, Ethan Suplee, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Horatio Sanz have standout moments.
Road Trip may be mean spirited, but it is mean spirited in equal measure ensuring all of its leads and cast have those types of iconic Todd Phillip comedic moments.
Note: Included on the Blu-ray is the Unrated Cut that really isn’t worth your time. All the UC does is just extends a specific nude scene. Stay with the theatrical cut.
The Transfer(s)
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master of the Theatrical Cut by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is an outstanding representation of the film. In fact, Road Trip has never looked better than it does on 4K UHD. The color, contrast, and black levels are wonderfully verbose. The image is pleasing to the eye without a scratch or blemish through the runtime. The transfer is razor sharp with a beautiful patina of film grain that’s representative of the film’s 35mm origins.
Bonus points for Kino Lorber including the Unrated Cut which is the previous HD Master by Paramount Pictures. One can definitely see the uptick in quality between the 4K transfer that was done in 2025 and this Unrated Cut Blu-ray transfer which was done in 2012. The image is good but it’s not the upgrade to the theatrical cut.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- NEW Audio Commentary by Hats Off Entertainment’s Joe Ramoni
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- NEW Audio Commentary by Hats Off Entertainment’s Joe Ramoni (R-Rated Theatrical Cut)
- Ever Been on a Road Trip: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
- Eels Music Video: Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues
- Road Kill: Deleted Scenes
- Two Theatrical Trailers
The all-new Audio Commentary by Hats Off Entertainment’s Joe Ramoni on R-Rated Theatrical Cut begins with a discussion of the teen sex comedy and how this is a part of. Some of the other details include a discussion of producer Ivan Reitman’s history – and his initial attachment on Animal House, and career post-Animal House; how Road Trip’s idea came from his experiences on Animal House’s development; a discussion of Reitman’s producing and directing career; how Todd Phillips became involved with the project; the career and personal history of Breckin Meyer; the glut of teen sex comedy at the time – what separates this from other films, and how this film sprouted a subgenre sex road trip movie; the work and career of Amy Smart – along with a discussion of her chemistry with Meyer; the work and career of DJ Qualls – and the typecasting that ensued for the actor; the casting what-if of Zach Galifianakis in the Tom Green role; a discussion of Green’s role and how it was expanded; the work and career of Paulo Costanzo; a discussion of DreamWorks – which released the film – and the history of production woes and eventually getting on track; the production’s location shoot; the work done by Todd Phillips and his collaboration with Reitman; the work of Tom Green here and his unique career outside of the film; a discussion of the various films directed by Phillips and oftentimes the surprising success of them; a discussion of the various actors who appear in cameos and supporting roles throughout; and much more.
Ever Been on a Road Trip: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (4:55) – hosted by Tom Green this quick EPK style making of featurette. Interviews with Director Todd Phillips, producer Ivan Rietman, stars Brekin Meyer, Sean William Scott, DJ Qualls, and Rachel Blanchard.
Eels Music Video: Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues (3:54)
Road Kill: Deleted Scenes (10:54) – these 8 deleted scenes can be navigated with the next and back chapter stop. They include Barry freaks out by a tree; Barry talks about the dorm of the future; Rubin spaces out at E.L.’s party; Kyle needs to use the bathroom; Tiffany is hazing pledges; the Cops pull over Josh and the guys in the bus; Josh dreams of Beth; Josh, Ruben, and Kyle rap.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Road Trip (1:52); Road Trip [Red Band] (2:26); Tropic Thunder (2:29); CB4 (2:31); Wayne’s World 2 (2:17); Half Baked (1:54); Kingpin (1:28); The Rundown (2:36)
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber has given Road Trip a shiny new 4K UHD coat of paint. Recommended