''National Lampoon's Senior Trip'' is a 1995 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

for the National Lampoon magazine franchise, directed by

Kelly Makin Kelly Makin is a Canadian television and film director. He directed episodes of ''The Kids in the Hall'' comedy television series and also directed several episodes of ''Queer as Folk'' including the series finale. More recently, Makin has dire ...

. It marked Jeremy Renner's film debut.

Plot

At Fairmount High School,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

in the suburbs of

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, a group of teenage students begin their school with an assembly featuring a band called "High on Life", though they are selfish at teachers and the principal. As the band continues to play onstage, Mark "Dags" D'Agastino and Reggie Barry decide to sabotage the assembly by exposing the band is lip syncing their music and playing the song recordings at inappropriate times. After a typing class (during which the teacher suffers a heart attack and dies), the seniors cut school and throw a party for Principal Moss. Moss eventually gets informed about the party from the student body president Steve Nisser. When he returns home, he gives the group detention, forcing them to write a letter to the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, explaining what is wrong with the education system. The next day while arriving at school, Moss and the new typing class teacher notices that various newspaper station vans are there assuming that something has gone wrong within the building. Mrs. Winston tells him that John Lerman is inside the building after meeting the seniors. Moss makes the announcement over them being invited by the President, who amazingly enjoyed their letter, to Washington, D.C. to discuss it. However, it is actually just a plot devised by the corrupt

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

to humiliate the President. The bus arrives at a convenience store, where Dags and Reggie lock Moss in a flooded washroom, and they steal alcoholic beverages. They are pursued by Travis, a crazed ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' fan and crossing guard, who hitches a ride with an Asian family. While on their way, Moss falls into a "

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

" after taking pills given to him by bus driver Red. At this point, the students go on a rampage celebrating over Moss passing out and throw another party, while Carla Morgan, the school

slut ''Slut (archaic: slattern)'' is an English-language term for a person, usually a woman or girl, who is considered to have loose sexual morals or who is sexually promiscuous. It is usually used as an insult, sexual slur or offensive term of d ...

, puts

makeup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

on Moss. The next day, the bus is pursued by Travis and the police. Red apparently dies from a

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

, and the bus nearly plows into a lake. Dags manages to stop it in time, but the car lands on the water and Travis escapes. Arriving at Washington, the group checks into a hotel and decides to take a class photo at a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

. Miosky uses

fart lighting Fart lighting also known as pyroflatulence, or flatus ignition is the practice of igniting the gases produced by flatulence. The resulting flame is often of a blue hue hence the act being known colloquially as a "blue angel", "blue dart" or in Au ...

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

's flame to distract Travis. That night, the seniors secretly lace a box of

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...

s with

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...

and give it to Miss Milford. When Milford seduces Moss, the students begin to leave to go to a party at the hotel next door, but Steve Nisser threatens to blow the whistle. Dags orders Mioski to take care of him. At the hotel, while the other students enjoy the party, Lisa Perkins takes Dags to the rooftop where she seduces him. The next day, she suddenly discovers the plot to use the students and embarrass the President. At the same time, Senator Lerman unexpectedly wakes up Moss and Milford, who—shocked at finding themselves in the same room—prepare themselves and the seniors for their meeting with the President. However, when they open the room, they do not find them there but only a tied-up Steve Nisser. Moss and Milford find the missing students, as they are informed of Lerman's plot as Lerman baffles to the discovery. The senator subsequently kidnaps Miosky and takes him to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

with the others in hot pursuit. When they arrive at the White House, the senator insults the seniors, but Moss unexpectedly stands up for them. The senator's plot is ultimately exposed and the seniors return home. The film ends with a montage of the characters and where they ended up after the events.

Cast

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and '' Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as '' S.W.A.T.'' ...

as Mark "Dags" D'Agostino * Eric "Sparky" Edwards as Miosky * Matt Frewer as Principal Todd Moss *

Tommy Chong Thomas B. Kin Chong (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, musician, activist. He is known for his marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, as well as playing the character Leo on Fox ...

as Red * Valerie Mahaffey as Miss Tracy Milford * Rob Moore as Reggie Barry *

Lawrence Dane Lawrence Joseph Zahab (April 3, 1937 – March 21, 2022), known professionally as Lawrence Dane, was a Canadian actor and film producer, best known for his role as Lt. Preston in ''Bride of Chucky''. Life and career Born in Masson, Quebec, Dane ...

as Senator John Lerman *

Kevin McDonald Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably th ...

as Travis Lindsey * Michael Blake as Herbert Jones *

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...

as Carla Morgan (credited as Tara Charendoff) *

Nicole de Boer Nicole de Boer is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring in the cult film '' Cube'' as Joan Leaven, playing Ezri Dax on the final season of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1998–1999), and as Sarah Bannerman on the series '' The ...

as Meg Smith * Sergio Di Zio as Steve Nisser * Fiona Loewi as Lisa Perkins * Kathryn Rose as Wanda Baker * Danny Smith as Barry "Virus" Kemmer *

Kay Tremblay Kay Tremblay (13 March 1914 – 9 August 2005) 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''. Biography Born in Scotland, ...

as Mrs. Winston * Wayne Robson as Frank Hardin * George R. Robertson as President Davis *

Rachel Wilson Rachel Alexandra Wilson (born May 12, 1977) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Heather in ''Total Drama'' and Tamira Goldstein in ''Breaker High''. Life and career Wilson was born in Ottawa, Ontario. She started actin ...

as Teen Girl (Susie) *

Ingrid Kavelaars Ingrid Kavelaars (born March 20, 1971) is a Canadian actress known for her role on the science-fiction series '' Code Name: Eternity''. Early life Kavelaars was born in London, Ontario, Canada. Her parents are Dutch. Her mother, Anne, was a ho ...

as Twin #2 *

Kim Schraner Kim Schraner (born 1976) is a Canadian actress, who starred in the children's spy TV series '' Spynet'', shown in Canada on CBC Television. Schraner starred in the Showcase soap opera ''Paradise Falls'' as the character Jessica Lansing. She st ...

as Caroline * Warren Davis as Senator Duffield

Reception

Box office

The film opened to $2,184,901 from 1,397 theaters with the average to 1,563 per site. The United States had $3,686,337; it was 78% of the total gross of the film. The overseas gross was $1,000,600 and it brought the film to $4,686,937.

Critical response

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews, earning a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes website, but it currently holds a B grade at Yahoo! Movies.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:National Lampoon's Senior Trip 1995 films 1990s adventure comedy films 1990s comedy road movies American adventure comedy films American comedy road movies 1990s English-language films Films about alcoholism Films set in Ohio Films set in Washington, D.C. National Lampoon films 1990s teen comedy films Films scored by Steve Bartek 1995 comedy films Films directed by Kelly Makin 1990s American films