The Trip

The Trip is a trip. It is a hilarious talkie-talk film made for an intelligently critical, foodie-obsessed, British humor-junkie like me!

I admit/know that many WILL hate watching this film about two British comedians (Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing "loose" versions of themselves by reprising their "characters" from the earlier film Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story) driving around the North Country (of England) eating in pubs and fine-dining restaurants while making fun of wine, food and culture snobs with little witticisms, bon mots and uncanny impersonations of some of Britian's top exports. There is also a lot of film and pop culture references to go along with the literary history thrown-about as the pair trek the highlands of some of Britian's late-greats (poets, writers, historians) and explore castles, manors and northern Moors.

The "story" is that Coogan has been tasked by The Observer (a British magazine) to travel the northern portions of England and write a food/wine/travel piece about his experience. As Steve's girlfriend backed-out of the trip at the last moment to fly to the states and his other go-to friends have all declined his invite, Steve reluctantly asks his old friend Rob to accompany him. Too bad for Steve; but "hahaha" for us!

The film is NOTHING more than these two getting on the other's nerves; making fun of snooty things (themselves included); eating in fine-dining establishments (glorious food prep/food porn here!); and making people laugh. If you aren't a British humor enthusiasts, avoid this one! It isn't slapstick/Benny Hill bawdy comedy here ... it is all understated, subtle humor in the delivery of lines of what these two men observe.

I found this to be somewhat of a treat to listen to (these are two highly gifted comedians) ... the beautiful Lake District and countryside of Britain was just an added bonus to it.

The Trip, the television program, is a poignant, rambling, beautiful little series, starring comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as fictionalized versions of themselves.

The Trip, the film, which I was able to catch at a packed SIFF screening, is an edited version of the television show. The six episode series clocks in at about 180 minutes, and the film, at 107 minutes, feels truncated and rushed comparatively. Both follow these hilarious gents as they review restaurants in the English countryside, but with those seventy-so minutes edited out, much of the nuance and poignancy is lost—the tone shifts from somber (but funny), to seemingly desperate for laughs. The film does often get those laughs (Coogan and Brydon, in their largely improvised conversations, are very humorous), but it fails to really make much impact beyond providing entertainment. The more melancholy scenes retained from the television series often feel tacked-on, and the transition between jokes and sentiment clunky, with quiet moments and breathing time largely cut out.

Audiences looking for droll popcorn fare will not be disappointed, but those wanting to be genuinely moved should skip the flick and instead seek out the superlative television series, using whatever means they can.

What a winning combination can be found in Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in Michael Winterbottom's comedy The Trip. Utilizing every inch of British humor that they can, Coogan and Brydon take the witty script even further, making real characters out of themselves and playing it straight, whether it's hilarious or a little heartbreaking. Set up as a mockumentary, Steve Coogan (playing himself) is asked to make a country-wide tour of England and explore the best restaurants in the country. Unable to take his girlfriend, he ends up taking his actor best friend Rob Brydon (also playing himself), and the two must endure the trip together, which becomes quite a challenge for Steve and Rob. They make quite the pair from there, often feeding into one another's humor brilliantly and in only a classy way, as they try to pass the time. They deal with their (sometimes dismal) outside life, which helps the film get some weight, but mainly focuses on the silly things they do when they are on the trip, which is usually impersonating people they admire or dreaming about roles and films they wish they would and I suppose could make. Even when their humor starts to repeat itself, it is surprisingly still intriguing. This is probably because it is such a refreshing contrast from the loud and obnoxious comedies we have been accustomed to in the Hollywood market. This film is quieter, but it's so damn funny. It finds its humor from not playing dumb to the audience, and higher minded viewers will appreciate that while simpler minded viewers might even find the film dull or droning. What I found is a hilarious, classy, British comedy that never tries too hard, and in doing so, it succeeds where other comedies only wish they could. A-

You can read the story synopsis elsewhere on these pages. My review is all about how thoroughly enjoyable it was to see two intelligent men on screen. It's something rare in American male testosterone driven films which are aimed at the teeny bopper male group. This film ran a gamut of references fro Coleridge to ABBA and never missed a beat.

I really just want to salute the movie as a triumph that says you don't need bombs, explosions or farts to make a film enjoyable. The conversations ran so smoothly. One would have thought them natural as in a cinema verite...........I knew nothing of the stars nor their UK experience and CV.............I just enjoyed listening to them without any prior historical context...........it also made me want to visit northern England to enjoy the food, scenes and outdoors. Worth a watch on a nice quiet peaceful American night. Maybe it will rub off on us.

(REVIEW FOR SERIES) 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.

8/10

(REVIEW FOR FILM) I'm very glad I watched the series before the movie. The film does contain the highlights from the show, most of the big belly laughs are intact... the "to bed" sequence is still a riot. But although I can't point to too many specific instances of scenes that I miss, the whole thing doesn't hang together well enough. You can tell there's stuff missing, it feels so fragmented and slapdash. I'm not even sure I want to keep the DVD. There's a generous deleted scenes section (running nearly as long as the film itself), but it doesn't even include everything from the series (about an hour of it is different takes of the "to bed" scene). If I was to watch it again I'd rather see in its original form. It just flows so much better. Like the fine wines Steve & Rob imbibe, the moments need to breathe.

6/10