National Lampoon's Senior Trip
Encyclopedia
National Lampoon's Senior Trip is a 1995
teen movie directed by Kelly Makin
.
high school
. After a typing class, the seniors cut school and throw a party at the home of Principal Moss (Matt Frewer
). When he returns home, he gives the class detention, forcing them to write a letter to the President of the United States
, explaining what is wrong with the education system.
Amazingly, the President enjoys it, and invites the class to Washington
to discuss it. However, it is actually just a plot devised by a corrupt U.S. Senator to humiliate the President.
Upon their journey, the class stops in a convenience store where Mark "Dags" D'Agastino (Jeremy Renner
) and Reggie Barry (Rob Moore) 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 and "Dope King". At this point, the students go on a rampage 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, a class photo taken at a cemetery
goes wrong when Miosky (Eric Edwards) blows out Edgar Hoover's flame via fart lighting
, catching Travis on fire in the process. That night, the seniors secretly lace a box of chocolate
s with tequila
and give it to Miss Milford (Valerie Mahaffey), subsequently leaving and going to a party at a 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.
When Principal Moss and Miss Milford find the missing students the next morning, they are informed of the plot. The senator's agents subsequently kidnap Miosky and take 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 the events of the film.
1995 in film
-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
teen movie directed by Kelly Makin
Kelly Makin
Kelly Makin is a Canadian television and movie director. He directed some episodes of The Kids in the Hall comedy television series and also directed several episodes of Queer as Folk including that series' last episode...
.
Plot
The film follows the story of a group of rude and obnoxious seniors from Fairmont High, an OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. After a typing class, the seniors cut school and throw a party at the home of Principal Moss (Matt Frewer
Matt Frewer
Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...
). When he returns home, he gives the class detention, forcing them to write a letter to the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, explaining what is wrong with the education system.
Amazingly, the President enjoys it, and invites the class to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to discuss it. However, it is actually just a plot devised by a corrupt U.S. Senator to humiliate the President.
Upon their journey, the class stops in a convenience store where Mark "Dags" D'Agastino (Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Lee Renner is a two-time Academy-Award-nominated American actor and musician. Renner appeared in films throughout the 2000s, mostly in supporting roles. He came to prominence in films such as Dahmer , S.W.A.T. , Neo Ned , 28 Weeks Later and The Hurt Locker...
) and Reggie Barry (Rob Moore) lock Principal Moss in a flooded convenience store toilet so they can steal alcohol from the store. They are followed by Travis (Kevin McDonald
Kevin McDonald
Kevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
), a crazed Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
fan and crossing guard, who hitches a ride with an Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
family.
While on their way, Principal Moss falls into a "coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
" after taking pills given to him by Red (Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
), the bus driver and "Dope King". At this point, the students go on a rampage and throw another party, while Carla Morgan (Tara Strong
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
), the school slut
Slut
Slut or slattern is a pejorative term applied to an individual who is considered to have loose sexual morals or who is sexually promiscuous...
, puts makeup
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
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
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
, 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, a class photo taken at a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
goes wrong when Miosky (Eric Edwards) blows out Edgar Hoover's flame via fart lighting
Fart lighting
Fart lightning or pyroflatulence is the practice of igniting the gases produced by human flatulence, often producing a flame of a blue hue, hence the act being known colloquially as a "blue angel", or in Australia, a "blue flame". The fact that flatus is flammable, and the actual combustion of it...
, catching Travis on fire in the process. That night, the seniors secretly lace a box of chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
s with tequila
Tequila
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
and give it to Miss Milford (Valerie Mahaffey), subsequently leaving and going to a party at a hotel while Miss Milford seduces Principal Moss in a drunken stupor. In the process, Lisa Perkins (Fiona Loewi
Fiona Loewi
Fiona Loewi is a Canadian actress. She attended McGill University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.- Filmography :* National Lampoon's Senior Trip * Love and Death on Long Island * Blackheart...
), discovers the plot to use the students to embarrass the President.
When Principal Moss and Miss Milford find the missing students the next morning, they are informed of the plot. The senator's agents subsequently kidnap Miosky and take him to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
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 the events of the film.
Characters
- Principal Todd Moss: A nerdy, unassertive principal who's constantly underminded by the students, especially Dags and Reggie, who do everything from inadvertently smash into a flag pole which lands on his new BuickBuickBuick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
to throwing a senior party at his home.
- Miss Tracy Milford: The new, sexually repressed keyboarding teacher who's a bit naive regarding the students' motives and activities.
- Dags and Reggie (real names: Mark D'Agostino and Reggie Barry): Two drug addicted underachievers who are constantly getting under Principal Moss's skin and are always looking for a way to throw a subversive party.
- Virus (real name: Barry Kimmer): The perverted, porn-obsessed computer nerd who has a very low tolerance for alcohol.
- Carla Morgan: The provocative, attractive, promiscuous party girl.
- Steve Nisser: The preppy, stuck-up student body president whom Principal Moss assigns to spy on Dags and his friends' activities.
- Lisa Perkins: The class brain and goody two-shoes who eventually develops a relationship with Dags.
- Wanda Baker: The reserved and reticent headcase; Reggie's pot-smoking counterpart.
- Meg Smith: The token lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
.
- Herbert Jones: A politically incorrect cynicist and antisocial bookwormBookwormBookworm may refer to:* Bibliophile or bookworm, an avid reader and lover of books* Bookworm , a popular generalization for any insect which supposedly bores through books...
who is always dressed in black and is an aspiring musician.
- Miosky: Obese eating machine and party animal.
- Red: The constantly stoned, drug addict bus driver.
- Travis Lindsey: The idiosyncratic, Star Trek-fixated loner whose entire goal is to "intercept and annihilate the Klingon leader"-i.e. Reggie who earlier insults him in the beginning of the film.
Cast
- Matt FrewerMatt FrewerMatthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...
as Principal Todd Moss - Valerie Mahaffey as Miss Milford
- Lawrence Dane as Senator John Lerman
- Tommy ChongTommy ChongTommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
as Red - Jeremy RennerJeremy RennerJeremy Lee Renner is a two-time Academy-Award-nominated American actor and musician. Renner appeared in films throughout the 2000s, mostly in supporting roles. He came to prominence in films such as Dahmer , S.W.A.T. , Neo Ned , 28 Weeks Later and The Hurt Locker...
as Dags - Rob Moore as Reggie
- Eric EdwardsEric EdwardsEric Edwards is an American former adult film star.Among his pseudonyms are Eric Cowards, Erik Edwards, Rob Emmett, Rob Everett, Rob Evert or Eric Roberts.- Awards :*1983 CAFA Best Actor for Sexcapades...
as Miosky - Kevin McDonaldKevin McDonaldKevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall.-Early life:...
as Travis - Micheal Blake as Herbert
- Tara StrongTara StrongTara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
as Carla Morgan (credited as Tara Charendoff) - Nicole de BoerNicole de BoerNicole de Boer is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1998 to 1999 and as Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007.-Career:...
as Meg Smith - Sergio Di ZioSergio Di ZioSergio Di Zio is a Canadian actor. He is currently starring in the television series Flashpoint as Michaelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti...
as Steve Nisser - Fiona LoewiFiona LoewiFiona Loewi is a Canadian actress. She attended McGill University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.- Filmography :* National Lampoon's Senior Trip * Love and Death on Long Island * Blackheart...
as Lisa Perkins - Kathryn Rose as Wanda
- Danny SmithDanny Smith (actor, musician)Daniel Arthur "Danny" Smith is a Canadian actor and musician.-Life and career:Smith was born in Pickering, Ontario. After high school productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , The Little Shop of Horrors , The Wizard of Oz and more, he began working at Stage West in...
as Virus - Lori Alter as Shirley
- Jack Jessop as Mr. Bloom
- Kay TremblayKay TremblayKay Tremblay was a Canadian film actress, also appearing on television and theatre. She was best-known for her Gemini Award-winning role of Great Aunt Eliza on Road to Avonlea....
as Mrs. Winston - Jack NewmanJack NewmanSir Jack Newman KBE was a New Zealand sportsman and business executive. As a cricketer, he earned three Test caps in 1932 and 1933 as a left-arm medium-pace bowler, being the first New Zealander to reach Test cricket direct from country cricket, in his case Nelson on South Island...
as Larry Diplo - Simon Sinn as Mr. Woo
- Grace Armas as Mrs. Woo
- Daniel LeeDaniel LeeDaniel Lee may refer to:*Daniel Curtis Lee , American actor*Daniel Armand Lee , South Korean hip hop artist, songwriter and lyricist*Danell Lee , winner of the second season of Malaysian Idol...
as Wong Woo - Paris Chong as Pablo
- Carol Ng as Du Mi Wong
- Wayne RobsonWayne RobsonWayne Robson was a Canadian television, film and stage actor best known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom The Red Green Show from 1993 to 2006, as well as in the 2002 film Duct Tape Forever.Robson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia...
as Frank Hardin - George R. RobertsonGeorge R. RobertsonGeorge R. Robertson is and American actor, most famous for his roles in the first 6 of 7 Police Academy movies and the film JFK. He also guest-starred on an episode of The Twilight Zone .-Career:...
as President Davis - Rachel WilsonRachel WilsonRachel Wilson is a Canadian actress.-Early life:She started acting at age 12, working extensively in Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles....
as Teen Girl in Film - Susie - Philip DeWilde as Teen Boy in Film - Fast Eddie
Cast Trivia
- This was (then-future) Oscar-nominee Jeremy RennerJeremy RennerJeremy Lee Renner is a two-time Academy-Award-nominated American actor and musician. Renner appeared in films throughout the 2000s, mostly in supporting roles. He came to prominence in films such as Dahmer , S.W.A.T. , Neo Ned , 28 Weeks Later and The Hurt Locker...
's feature film debut.
- DJ Qualls, best known for movies The New GuyThe New GuyThe New Guy is a 2002 American teen comedy directed by Ed Decter. The film tells the story of high school loser Dizzy Gillespie Harrison. Dizzy is an unpopular, high school band geek going through a hellish senior year...
and Road Trip had a one-second and uncredited cameo during the assembly scene near the beginning of the film.
- Paris Chong was in the film portraying the character Pablo. Paris is the son of Tommy ChongTommy ChongTommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
, who is also in the film as Red the bus driver.
- Nicole de BoerNicole de BoerNicole de Boer is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Ezri Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1998 to 1999 and as Sarah Bannerman on The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007.-Career:...
would later go on to play Ezri DaxEzri DaxEzri Dax , played by Nicole de Boer, is a counselor aboard Deep Space Nine in the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Casting:The role of Ezri Dax was created when Terry Farrell decided to leave the show and her character was subsequently killed by Dukat.When Nicole de Boer read for the...
in the seventh and final season of Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
.