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Celebrating ‘Road Trip’ With a Kegger

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Just when you thought you were too old to ever go to another “kegger,” the DreamWorks party meisters block off a street in Westwood Village and there you are on a warm May evening, eating fistfuls of peanuts and drinkin’ brew.

Actually, the ambience, such as it was, was fitting for the raunch-fest “Road Trip,” which premiered Thursday evening at the Mann Village.

The Crowd: The fresh-faced but largely unknown cast members--Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Paulo Costanzo (super-cute in a slick grey suit topped with a funky red cowboy hat), DJ Qualls, Rachel Blanchard and somewhat better-known MTV goofball Tom Green--were joined by fellow young stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Reese Witherspoon and husband Ryan Phillippe.

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Hollywood Reality Check: You are not, repeat, not at a college kegger when you bump into the likes of DreamWorks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg.

The Scene: Up-and-coming band KGB (which has a song on the soundtrack and is signed to DreamWorks Records, natch) warmed up the crowd for Run DMC, the granddaddies of rap, who tried their darndest to rock the Blink-182 market crowd.

Mistaken Identity Crisis: In the film there is a hilarious scene that hinges on a case of mistaken identity but the real-life mix-up at the party was the droves of people who mistook Meyer for director-actor Spike Jonze.

Method Filmmaking: “It was like being at camp,” said Qualls, the gangly former Prada model who plays the gullible Kyle in the film. “It felt like someone gave a bunch of 12-year-olds some film equipment and said, ‘OK, give us a movie.’ ”

Can’t argue with that.

“Road Trip” opens in general release Friday.

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