Behind the wheel of 'Road Trip'

"Animal House" Producer, Ivan Reitman, steers his vision of the raunchy "Road Trip" to theaters this week

May 17, 2000
Web posted at: 3:08 p.m. EST (1908 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Thanks to its high raunch factor, "Road Trip" is this year's "American Pie," some people say.

The movie, which goes nationwide Friday, features Breckin Meyer as Josh, a college student who must embark on an 1,800-mile road trip to intercept a videotape of him having sex with another girl that was accidentally mailed to his girlfriend.

His three buddies, played by Seann William Scott, Paulo Costanzo and DJ Qualls, join him.

Now who better to mastermind such a road trip than Ivan Reitman, who produced the 1978 cult classic "Animal House"? For extra punch, he hired Todd Phillips, the maker of the independent film "Frat House," to write and direct.

MTV comic Tom Green narrates this tale of mice (ahem) and men-in-training.

"It's a journey of a bunch of young people who are finding themselves, and, you know, visiting sperm banks and eating mice and having gross things happen along the way," he said.

In real life, Green is recovering from testicular cancer surgery. Doctors removed his lymph nodes in March. MTV is planning to air a special about his battle with cancer on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.

"Road Trip"

Despite the illness, Green manages to keep his sense of humor -- a fact his fellow cast members appreciated. "He'll just get stuck on something ... and he'll just start going off," Meyer said. "It's hysterical."

"He's a very normal guy, until you put a camera on him, or until he's working, or until he wants to 'turn it on,'" Costanzo added.

Green said he's perfect for a role in "Road Trip," having been on a few himself. The wackiest one, he recalled, was a cross-country trip, taken in a van he borrowed from someone on the Internet.

"We were driving, and we saw a cougar," he said. "The cougar ran into the woods. A minute later the van overheated. We broke down, and were were scared s---less."

Maybe that's why Green prefers working with mice this time.

MTV's Green back in hospital for cancer surgery
March 21, 2000
Tom Green: 'I think all comedy has victims'
February 8, 2000
Review: 'American Pie' dishes up outrageous comedy
July 9, 1999
Summer of the big box-office gross (out)
July 8, 1999

Official 'Road Trip' site
MTV: 'The Tom Green Show'

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.