Boat Trip

Man I don't understand why people come down so hard on this movie and personally, I thought that is was a good but not a great movie but it doesn't deserved all the negativity that you hear, anyway it's about Jerry (Cuba Gooding) who proposes to his snotty girlfriend Felicia (Vivian A. Fox) and he and his unsophisticated friend Nick (Heratio Sanz) decide to go on a cruise so they can meet some beautiful woman but after Nick cussing one of the cruise agents out, they wind up on a GAY CRUISE!! There's a funny appearance by Roger Moore who was a former James Bond and there's a funny scene by Felicia who tells a guy to be careful with her luggage cause she claims that they're worth more than what he makes in a year.

When I saw this movie in the theater, they're was only 8 people, only 8, can you believe that.

If you ask me if I would watch this movie again, the answer is yes but I'll wait till it comes out on DVD or the video.

I stumbled on this movie by pure accident and I had absolutely no idea what kind of movie it was before I saw it. As I didn't recognize the name of that movie, I guessed that it would be really bad flop, but the movie turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The movie is not a masterpiece, but I found it quite entertaining, relaxed and maybe even hilarious. And I guess it is really hard to make a comedy that people would consider a masterpiece. I will definitely show this film to my friends and I think this film can be enjoyed more than once. It is somewhat clumsy film, but mostly in a positive way.

The movie had a lot of silly jokes based on different kind of stereotypes like swedes and gays, but I think it worked quite well. And in my opinion none of the stereotypes was done in offending way and all of the characters were likable - even the promiscuous, but a bit "blond" Swedish woman and her strict coach. At least as a gay I didn't find the movie homophobic or the gay stereotypes offensive at all, unlike some comments.

I think that the movie could have been a bit better if it wouldn't have had that explicit "I guess gays might be OK" phrase and the stereotypes had been a bit nastier. And with a bit better directing the movie could have had better fluidity.

But I can recommend the movie even though it wasn't flawless. I especially liked the performance of Cuba Gooding Jr. But some straight guys might find the movie boring or maybe a bit embarrassing even though the movie has some relatively good looking women and the main characters are straight. And of course not all people like this kind of comedies with adolescent and a bit tasteless humour.

When Jerry vomits onto his girlfriend when trying to be romantic, he finds himself dumped and depressed. Weeks turn into months and his best friend Nick decides to help him out of his funk by getting them onto a cruise together. However a fight in the travel agents see them being "accidentally" booked onto a gay cruise. Unfortunately for them they only realise this after they have set sail. With no land in immediate sight, things look bleak but both Jerry and Nick find more opportunities than they had expected.

If there is a warning noise in comedies (ie a cinematic fire alarm) then surely it must be any film that has the main character dancing alone in their flat to a James Brown song. So when this film opened with that I immediately got on edge – a feeling that didn't change for the rest of the film. With a foundation of homophobia, bikini wearing models and loud humour this is very much a comedy that aims at a teenage market and probably does enough to satisfy them if not anyone else. The gags are obvious and simplistic and are unlikely to appeal to anyone who doesn't think that cum jokes are the height of humour, homosexual men are 99% clichés and that large breasts are the most important thing in a woman. I don't really think these things so I only laughed once the whole time – and even that was cut short as a good joke immediately turned into crudity. Without laughs the story is exposed for the predictable, puerile mess that it is.

The cast don't help the material and seem to just accept the level that it is at. Goding Jr mostly mugs his way through it and to his credit at least puts his all into it – a "lesser" actor would have shied away from some of his scenes but Cuba seemingly has no shame. The one good thing to say about him is that he does have an easy chemistry with Sanchez, although that may be more to do with the fact that she is sexy and natural and is easily the best thing in the whole film. Sanz is a typical "fat funny guy" but I use the word "funny" with reservations as he is nothing special. Fox may get a hard time from Boondocks but films like this hardly help her case – she is poor in a small role. Moore puts his heart into his role but at times he does himself no favours and pushed it too far. Why people like Gunton, Silvstedt and Roundtree bothered is beyond me.

Overall a very basic comedy that has very, very few laughs and will probably only appeal to the male teenage market that it is squarely aimed at. The stereotypes are flying, the crudity and homophobia is rampant and the only thing missing is entertainment value. Sanchez dominates with a sexy and natural performance but that is mainly down to just how very average everyone else is.

Boat Trip isn't a bad idea for a movie, 2 straight guys go on a cruise looking for love, only to find that its a gay cruise and all their fellow cruisers are men. Potentially this is a scenario that should have made us laugh ourselves silly; well i'm sorry to say that it doesn't, you may raise the occasional smile and if your lucky you may even titter once or twice, but that's your lot.

Boat trip is average in every department and Cuba Gooding Jnr. should stick to making movies like Men of Honour and Instinct; he is simply better at playing this type of character.

It's not a total waste of time, but it's certainly a disappointment 5/10

This isn't a must-see, nor is it a should-see, but it's not bad for a film this amateurish and low-brow. Despite having watched a couple billion movies, I've never become an expert at pointing out things like continuity errors and other flubs of that sort, but you don't have to be a film scholar to notice the COUNTLESS times the boom mike appears in the shots. I've seen student films shot with more professionalism. Come on!

The script is written with almost no intelligence. Any perv with half a brain can cough up such a cheap set of gags like this. But the sense of humor don't lie. I did get a fair deal of laughs. Not only that, but I was impressed by the gratuitous shots of half-naked women! Viewers probably assume since it's a film about a gay cruise, there'd be nothing but half-naked guys, but think again! I'm glad the director was thinking about the straight guys in the audience.

Part of the film's charm is it reminds me of those late night adult comedies like "Bikini Carwash Company" and "Beauty School." Lots of women in bikinis and nothing but tasteless sex gags. You can probably see most of the punchlines from a mile away, yet you still want to laugh. There's one scene where Cuba Gooding, Jr. ejaculates out the window and his fluids land on a man's face. The man is standing next to his gay lover and he says to him, "At least kiss me first." A totally forced, brainless gag, but it made me bust out laughing!

Gooding seems to be having fun in every scene, but I can't help but wonder, "Just WHAT the hell is he doing in this movie?" I could understand if this movie were made prior to his Oscar-winning appearance in "Jerry Maguire," but he's the last actor who should volunteer to do such a low-grade film. I know he didn't do it for the money, because the film's budget must've been about 3 dollars. But as I said, he does look like he's having fun and delivers some laughs. I liked his gay dance number of "I'm Coming Out," where he's dressed up as a showgirl. Horatio Sanz, one of the few new SNL cast members who actually makes me laugh, also delivers the goods. Former 007 star Roger Moore steals a few scenes himself. And Roselyn Sanchez, of "Rush Hour 2" fame, graces the screen with her beauty. Boy, is she hot!

I've heard some reviewers complain about the film's use of gay stereotypes. Now, in a more intelligent film, you may have the right to complain. With a film like this, why waste your breath? If you want to see an accurate portrayal of gays, watch "Queer as Folk." I'm sure no one walked into "Boat Trip" with the expectation that it would be a realistic portrait of homosexuals. I know gay people don't always talk about sex and guys' sex organs, but with characters who went against that stereotype, how would we have a comedy? If blacks and Hispanics are able to laugh at Archie Bunker comically bashing their people, gays can laugh at the stereotypes portrayed in this movie.

Even for a rental, I'd give this movie just a mild recommendation, but it is somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Every once in a while you feel like kicking back and watching a movie that requires no brain power. Well...look no further.

My score: 5 (out of 10)