Review: Trippin (1999)

Director: David Raynr | 94 minutes | comedy | Actors: Deon Richmond, Donald Faison, Guy Torry, Maia Campbell, Aloma Wright, Harold Sylvester, Cleavon McClendon, Bill Henderson, Michael Warren, Countess Vaughn, Stoney Jackson, Dartanyan Edmonds, Anthony Anderson, Charles Walker, Davis Henry, Natashia Williams, Jonathan T. Floyd, Arif S. Kinchen, Sacha Kemp, Kamau Holloway, Erin Leshawn Wiley, Shondrella Avery, Renee Kelly, Clyde Jones, Daniel White, Sal Rendino, Roy Joe Lee, Arvie Lowe Jr., Marc Abraham

Gregory Reed (Deon Richmond) or ‘G’ is ‘tripping’ all day, meaning daydreaming. The lap swan is in the last year of high school and does not know yet what he will do next. He and his friends are also more concerned with the upcoming prom than their future. Greg’s parents are on his roof sending application forms to universities. He’s more concerned with finding a date. When he falls for the beautiful and intelligent Cinny, Greg changes. This mediocre to bad comedy alternates reality and dreams, which is often annoying. In his dreams Greg is ‘the man’, it is wealth and half-naked women what the clock strikes. Even at the family table where there is a lot of shouting, Greg dreams about the ‘honeys’ and the ‘money’.

Actor Deon Richmond started acting at a very young age. He starred in the TV series ‘The Cosby Show’ (1984-1992) and ‘Sister, Sister’ (1994-1999) and was in ‘Scream 3’ (2000) and ‘Not Another Teen Movie’ (2001). The character of Greg does not affect you much, it is only late in the film that the lazy thunder becomes more sympathetic. His womanizing friend June is played by Donald Faison. The actor is known as Murray from the movie and series ‘Clueless’ and the series ‘Scrubs’ (2001). It’s a little meaningful role. As well as that of less handsome friend Fish (Guy Torry). The handsome Maia Campbell is as Cinny the nicest character or perhaps her all ‘disdating’ niece (Countess Vaughn) Anetta. Furthermore, Anthony Anderson from ‘Scary Movie 4’ (2006) is in it as a stupid crook and Naomi Campbell has a cameo role.

The story is corny and the jokes are flat, sometimes nauseous and rarely funny. In ‘She’s All That’ (1999) the fear of life after high school is elaborated much better. In that film there is a balance between good jokes and the serious work (the teenage drama). Plus point is Greg’s attitude towards the end of the movie. But ‘Trippin’ remains a simple film with some nudity and crude language.