The Trip

I could watch Steve and Rob do impressions for hours while pretty much acting as themselves. What made this great was that I had no idea what to expect going in and what a lovely surprise this was. Now I need to make time to watch the sequels.

The Trip is one of the odder on the road, buddy movies. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, playing themselves, take off on a road trip to northern England's finer restaurants. Coogan is assigned to sample their dishes and author a review on them for the Observer. He invites Brydon along for the ride after his girlfriend and several other friends decline the invitation first.

90% of the film is just back and forth banter between the two British comedians, mostly impressions. They compare their Michael Caine impressions and they are amazingly spot on. They also try out Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellan, Roger Moore, and a host of others. Intercut between these impressions and other comedic diatribes is a deeper and more personal story. Brydon has a wife and newborn waiting for him back in London but Coogan is in a rough patch with his younger American girlfriend and proceeds through a few one night stands during the trip. There are scenes showing his insecurity with her and a few which show the two friends comparing careers and who is more successful. Coogan is more internationally known but Brydon gets recognized more on the street in northern England.

The last film starring these two was Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story which was about how utterly hard it would be to film the novel Tristram Shandy. That film was comedic genius and still makes me laugh to think about it. The Trip does not rise to that Tristram Shandy's level, but there are plenty of moments to enjoy here, especially if you are at all familiar with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. If you have never heard of these guys before, you will not get too much out of The Trip except for some laughs at their impressions and a spectacular scene in their Range Rover about improving the line "We rise at dawn."

I thoroughly enjoyed The Trip. Not only did the movie capture British humor perfectly but the scenery of Northern England's Lake District and the Pennine mountains made me want to go there. This movie did borrow somewhat from Sideways but in a less substantial way. This was a lighthearted, humorous road movie in the British tradition which also required you to think! The literary references throughout the movie such as the poet Coleridge and others was thought provoking and humorous at the same time.

If you are a fan of American comedy that is unfortunately coming out of Hollywood at the moment, such as The Hangover, Horrible Bosses etc, this will not be your cup of tea. I wonder after seeing this, how would it have been if Monty Python ever created a road movie of this sort?

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-

The first thing I noticed about this pair up was that the two were made for each other. Their dialogues are so easy, so effortless follow there was no awareness of the intrusion of false, unnecessary dialogue. This is for the movie version. I had a hard time buying the notion that this was a piece of fiction when it most likely was, but that's how smooth the personal and theatrical mixed in. The other lovely part is how the theatrical structure for the piece, the necessary obstructions, personal dilemmas, blended in so seamlessly. These people weren't acting. Oh yes they were! The story, low key as it is, is set against the bleak north country with snow on the ground and complemented by the considerable sophistication of the restaurants. It takes a genuine student of human character to illuminate human behavior in a way this comprehending of the slight struggles for control, as well as the peculiar side effects of self indulgence. It looks simple and easy. To make it this recognizable and entertaining is not. Or maybe it is if you're in their profession in a non Hollywood sort of way.