Reel Critics

Clem Dominguez

DJ Qualls, of “Road Trip,” plays Gil Harris the high school geek

everyone loves to pick on. After a series of humiliating incidents, the

last one in front of the whole student body, he decides his only chance

to salvage his life is to get kicked out of school. DJ gets his wish when

one of his outlandish pranks lands him in jail and gets him expelled.

In jail he meets Luther (Eddie Griffin) who takes him under his wing

to teach him the ins and outs of being bad.

One thing that bothered me a little was DJ’s unbelievable ability to

roam around the prison going in and out of cells and talking with inmates

without restrictions. Having said all that I still liked the movie. You

have to hand it to the casting people here, DJ Gualls is the ultimate

geek. The word so fits him you would think the person who invented it saw

him first. Add Lyle Lovett, a true adult geek, playing his father and you

have the perfect geek family.

Besides DJ and Lovett I thought Griffin was very funny as DJ’s mentor

in being bad. Eliza Dushku playing the most popular girl in school was

OK; at least her character had a bit of a tender side so we got a chance

to like her a little. The rest of the cast could have been anyone in any

high school in America. There were a few star cameo appearances, which

I’ll let you discover for yourself.

So if you’re were ever treated like you were invisible in high school

you’ll get a real kick out of this movie, if not I would pass on this

one.

* CLEM DOMINGUEZ, 57, is an aspiring screenwriter and film fanatic.