“Boat Trip” (Artisan Pictures)
Cuba Gooding, Jr. is handsome, talented and charming. So why is he making movies like “Boat Trip” This film is so far beneath his talent that he couldn’t see it on a clear day, yet here he is hamming it up for a few cheap laughs. If he keeps this up he will never make another movie the caliber of “Jerry Macguire.”
In “Boat Trip” he plays a guy named Jerry. He has a girlfriend, Felicia (Vivica A Fox) that he thinks he loves a lot. But then she breaks off with him because she wants someone new. His best friend Nick (Horatio Sanz) decides that in order to raise his spirits he will get Jerry to go on a cruise with him.
Thanks to some manipulating done by a malicious travel agent (Will Ferrell), Jerry and Nick end up on a gay cruise ship. They think this is awful until Jerry meets dance instructor Gabriella (Roselyn Sanchez) and Nick meets a member of the Swedish suntanning team. She has gotten on board by accident too.
The film is one bad joke after another with Gooding taking the low road to try to milk a laugh. He is joined at this level by every other member of the cast which also includes Roger Moore as a man with an eye for the laddies. Lin Shay of “Something About Mary” fame is also on screen and her talent too is wasted.
The film is rated R for profanity, sexual situations and nudity.
It is a real shame that Hollywood can’t find anything better to offer Gooding than this type of trash. He would be better off waiting for a “Snow Dogs” sequel than lowering himself to participate in something as rank as this.
“Boat Trip” is no pleasure cruise for the audience. It is just an offensive, go for the lowest level, type of comedy. Hopefully it will sink fast and not surface again.
I scored “Boat Trip” a man overboard 3 out of 10.
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
