The Trip

I'm always on the lookout for comedy series to entertain me during my short lunch break whilst sat in my little office on my own far from civilisation. So far.. Green Wing, Mitchell and Webb, the excellent Big Train, the surreal Garth Marenghis Darkplace, The Great Outdoors, and others have stood the test of my thirty minute sandwich break.

This time, its 'The Trip' , and I don't expect to get through it, as its already becoming tedious after three episodes. This is clearly nothing more than a marketing gimmick for the restaurants involved.. its certainly not a comedy. Its basically Rob and Steve sat at a table, doing impressions, and that's as far as the plot goes. They're not comedy impressions though, just regular, everyday impressions. The type of impressions that impressionists with no comedy talent (such as Alistair McGowan) think are funny... ie, they're not funny at all.

The best thing about this series is actually the scenery that the UK has to offer. They go to some stunning locations and some nice hotels and restaurants. But, the restaurants clearly have some kind of marketing involvement going on here, as we are treated to full menu breakdowns, shots of the kitchens and chefs, history of said restaurant or hotel, and as yet, not a bad word to be said about any of them by Steve or Rob.

Odd program.. sometimes uncomfortable viewing.. certainly not funny.

Utterly horrible, unfunny, uninteresting. To rich egomaniacs eating disgusting food, almost no one can afford and nobody needs. While doing that they are nagging each other being mean and nasty while doing dad jokes and bad impressions. Coogan whines the whole time about how bad his life is or he speaks on the phone with his 20 years younger girlfriend who seems fed up with him - I wonder why? How's that supposed to be funny? They made how many of those? I usually love British shows, many made by the BBC. This is just not watchable, a waste of time. I just finished watching W1A and loved the understated, subtle humour. A great parody of British mannerisms and modern times. The Trip shows a lot of what is wrong with people today without being funny and seemingly unintentionally.

What we've really got is two series. One is the comedy of "Steve Coogan" and "Rob Brydon" exchanging barbs and doing impressions and making witty observations. These parts generally occur over the six meals they share, and I really enjoyed them. Some of their banter is hilarious... I had already seen the Michael Caine routine several times on YouTube and yet I still laughed at it. The other film involves the contrast between these people/characters: Steve, trying to bolster his acting career and struggling with a relationship that's starting to crack, and Rob the less successful but content family man. And I really enjoyed this part as well. Rob's calls home to his wife are amusing but also quite touching. Steve's existential midlife crisis is engaging and insightful as well. The two halves of the film do bleed into each other a bit, but I genuinely appreciated the separation between them. Winterbottom knows that it's okay to just let these two guys play off each other with their natural comedic chemistry and not worry about whether or not it's pushing the "plot" forward. The photography is mostly functional, concentrating on the personalities, but quite lovely when capturing all that gorgeous English countryside. While the film isn't as post-modern as the previous collaborations (24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE and TRISTRAM SHANDY, both of which seem to get minor callbacks in the first episode, though it may be merely coincidence) it still maintains an unconventionality.

Beautiful scenery and some occasionally funny banter (e.g. the 'Gentlemen to bed, for we leave at 9:30' bit), but these two guys were so shallow and tiring that it killed most of my enjoyment, and I was glad when it ended. Some of the impressions were pretty funny the first time, but to hear them trotted out again and again was tedious. The cuts to the gourmet food being plated in the kitchen before being brought out to them were not only throwaway shots, but they emphasized just how entitled these guys are, and their snarky commentary didn't help. We don't get any real introspection or humility to show some humanity and this seemed like a vanity project, complete with one-night stands and lame cell phone calls to family and agents while out on the road. It's unfortunate because I loved the concept, and the landscapes are so stunning.

One of the TV highlights of 2010. Coogan and Brydon are superb, the oddest of couples as they bicker about their careers and try to outdo each other with impressions ranging from Al Pacino ('whatta ya got?') to Alan Bennett ('Peter and Dudley, Dudley and Peter'). It's beautifully shot with some stunning locations and also manages the tricky feat of segueing from dark comedy to oddly touching drama and back again. It could so easily have been self-indulgent tripe, and there are admittedly times when you want to reach into the screen and punch the preening, self-obsessed Coogan, but The Trip manages to walk that finest of lines, delivering a love song to the north and a funny, thoughtful meditation on fame and the ageing process. Here's hoping for a second series.