Movies Reviews

The Trip – Movie Review 2

By Ron Wilkinson Jun 10, 2011, 16:10 GMT

When Steve Coogan is asked by The Observer to tour the country\'s finest restaurants, he envisions it as the perfect getaway with his beautiful girlfriend. But, when she backs out on him, he has no one to accompany him but his best friend and source of eternal aggravation, Rob Brydon. ...more

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon take the audience on a cruise through stand-up comedy in this easy-going farce.

If you like Steve Coogan and/or Rob Brydon, see this film. If that brand of humor is not your cup of tea give this flick a miss. It is that simple. The two reprise their roles from “Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story” and reunite with director Michael Winterbottom who they worked with in the smash indie hit “24 Hour Party People.”

This film is an edited version of the combined six episodes of the TV series of the same name. Presumably this worked well for director Winterbottom who likes to use loose scripts and have the actors improvise in their own words.

It also worked well for the two comedians who had done most of these routines a hundred times before and so would not too much trouble remembering their lines. If the end result has more in common with a TV stand-up comedy show, so be it.

The storyline is that Steve needs to take a drive through the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales in the north of England to write reviews of fine restaurants. Great work, if you can get it. His problem is that he needs someone to accompany him on the trip and, well, his friends have turned him down with amazing consistency.

His last resort is to call Rob Brydon and tell him, well, that he is his last resort. Rob responds that is an offer he cannot refuse. Let the male bonding begin. Sort of.

What follows is a series of skits put together in a movie. The two give a superb rendition of their dueling Michal Caine impersonations as well as shots at Woody Allen, Liam Neeson and many others.

The setting of the prestigious restaurants provides a good backdrop for the goofy comedy routines. The problem is that the question of how these two ever ended up in a gourmet restaurant keeps coming to mind. OK, that is all part of the joke.

The strikingly beautiful English countryside rolls by as the two badger themselves through the six-day trip. The cinematography probably does more good for the United Kingdom tourist business than this film does for the careers of either of the two leads. The lush, green countryside is dotted with the ancient stone fences and hedgerows. The restaurants and hotels are, of course, of only the cutest kind.

The trip starts off with some routines about what happens when a failed hotel reservation forces the two to sleep in the same bed. This has good potential and the two mine it for all it is worth. We are not talking about Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in “Stir Crazy” here but the humor is pleasant enough.

As the film goes on, things get a little more serious, or at least the dialog tries for more serious humor. Perhaps moving into Woody Allen territory. This is a type of comedy and drama with which Coogan has to be careful. If he lapses into anything close to a conservative English intellectual he is doomed.

Women drop into the story, and male-female relationships are explored. The result does not turn out as funny as intended. But, then, many people do not find themselves rolling in the aisle about Woody Allen’s flicks, either.

If you are feeling in the mood for a little laid back, improvisational film-humor, check out “The Trip.” However, if you are more demanding and expect to laugh aloud most of the time, try Coogan’s “I’m Alan Partridge” series.

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Directed by: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Steve Coogan, Margo Stilley and Rob Brydon
Release Date: June 10, 2011
MPAA: Not Rated
Runtime: 107 minutes
Country: UK
Language: English
Color: Color