Miss March

Miss March arrived in theaters in March 2009 as the feature directorial debut of Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore, members of the sketch comedy group The Whitest Kids U' Know. The film follows Eugene Bell, a young man who emerges from a four-year coma to find that his high school sweetheart, Cindi Whitehall, has become a Playboy centerfold. Determined to win her back, Eugene embarks on a cross-country road trip from Ohio to the Playboy Mansion with his crude and reckless best friend, Tucker Cleigh. The movie was produced by Fox Atomic, a short-lived division of Fox Searchlight that targeted young audiences, on a budget of $6 million.

The production shot in just 32 days, with key scenes filmed at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Hugh Hefner agreed to appear as himself after approving the script's portrayal of his home. Craig Robinson, cast as the oddly named hitchhiker Horsedick.MPEG, expanded his role through improvisation, making the character one of the film's few bright spots. The original cut received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, forcing the filmmakers to trim several scenes to secure an R rating.

Upon release, Miss March grossed $4.6 million worldwide, failing to recoup its production costs. Critical reception was overwhelmingly negative, with a 5% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 19 out of 100. The film was nominated for four Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture and Worst Director. In the years since, it has been largely forgotten, though Trevor Moore's death in 2021 prompted a brief resurgence of interest among fans revisiting his early work.[edit]

Eugene Bell is a shy high school senior who has been dating the popular and beautiful Cindi Whitehall since middle school. On prom night, he nervously prepares to lose his virginity to her, but a freak accident intervenes: Eugene slips in the shower, hits his head, and falls into a coma. He awakens four years later, still a virgin and mentally stuck at age eighteen, to discover that his world has been turned upside down. His best friend, Tucker Cleigh, has transformed from a mild-mannered teenager into a hyper-sexual, irresponsible party animal who has spent the past four years indulging every impulse. Cindi, meanwhile, is no longer the small-town girlfriend Eugene remembers. She has become the March 2005 Playmate of the Month, living at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.

Determined to reclaim the life he lost, Eugene convinces a reluctant Tucker to drive him across the country to the Playboy Mansion. Tucker agrees only because he sees the trip as an opportunity to party at the legendary estate. The duo sets off from their Ohio hometown in Tucker's car, but their journey quickly descends into chaos. They accidentally cause the death of a fireman named Rick, sparking a guilt-ridden subplot. They pick up a mysterious hitchhiker who goes by the screen name Horsedick.MPEG, a heavily armed and oddly philosophical man who proves both dangerous and unexpectedly helpful. A vengeful nurse from the hospital where Eugene was comatose pursues them, intent on killing Eugene for ruining her life. Tucker's reckless behavior, stealing vehicles, starting fires, and destroying property, escalates the stakes at every turn.

As the pair careens from one disaster to another, Eugene begins to question whether his idealized memory of Cindi matches the person she has become. Tucker, meanwhile, is forced to confront his own immaturity when his actions have real consequences. The road trip becomes a series of increasingly absurd encounters, from run-ins with law enforcement to a bizarre stop at a rural gas station. The story builds toward their arrival at the Playboy Mansion, where Hugh Hefner appears as himself, setting the stage for a confrontation that will force Eugene to decide what he truly wants.[edit]