Sällskapsresan

"Jak kan flyga. Jag är inte rädd."

Stig Helmer (Lasse Åberg) cements his status as lovable nerd in Sällskapsresan (1980), a goofy lanky man who never quite stopped being a shy boy. His nickname is "The Giraff" and he always ends up saying the wrongs things. Although this film is one of many in a series of cult comedies starring Åberg and his band of eccentric friends, it is the funniest and most memorable one. If you live in Scandinavia, you will have seen it a dozen of times and if you have grown up in the typical Swedish way, you will have laughed at it even more so.

Sällskapsresan sees Stig Helmer and his Norwegian friend Ole Bramserud on a charter-trip to the Canary Islands. Stig Helmer is asked by his doctor to deliver a package to a friend of his at the destination and oblivious to the fact that it contains 50,000 SEK, Stig accidentally loses it at the airport and a hilarious mess ensues. But this little criminal detour is not what is funny about the film. The many laughs come from seeing Stig Helmer's clumsy and naive ways juxtaposed to the sleek jet-set style of the pretentious travel guides.

What elevates Sällskapsresan (1980) and its sequels above generic comedy formula is its brilliant, clear-eyed use of Swedish clichés. Everyone who is a child of the 1950s-1980s has probably been to the Canary Islands at one time or another and encountered the silly tourist things that are present in this film. Here they are overblown and hilarious, but still subtle enough to get us to identify with them. The whole film is really extremely realistic, as are all its stereotypical characters. A real classic.

8.5/10

This is a cult comedy classic. The best comedy movie ever produced by the Swedish film industry. Stig H. Olsson is a character that everyone in Sweden knows, he's charm and neediness is extremely well done. And this vacation comedy really has is all and will go down in the history book as the best Swedish comedy ever made.

This is a cult classic.

I've seen this movie so many times and NEVER have I gotten tired of it, I see it multiple times a year and remember all the lines.

It's fun and lot of the skits are based on real life experience from stories told by swedish travel agencies.

The woman who plays Mrs. Storch is not a proffessional actor, but rather a real life travel agent that was a consultant on the movie.

Lasse Åberg thought she was amazing and funny and asked if she wanted to play Mrs. Storch.

But by any means, it might not live up to todays comedy standards, but it's really funny in a silly way and you kinda have to know a little about swedish culture and society to understand the jokes.

So this is not a movie for everyone and anyone, but if you like old comedies, then watch this movie.

This may not be much of a comedy in the fundamental sense, but Lasse Åberg's Sällskapsresan is a fine little feel-good flick and a valid peak at the first wave of Scandinavian sun travels to the Canary Islands. In the midst of all the obvious buffoonery made to mock and make fun of everything from Swedish stereotypes and snobbish businessmen to Catholic chastity, the film has a sincerity and an authentic charm that makes it impossible to dislike. Stig-Helmer Olsson, played by writer/director Lasse Åberg, and his Norwegian buddy Ole Bramserud, played by a bubbly Jon Skolmen, make for a delightful duo.

One of the truly greatest (and perhaps most genuinely Swedish) comedies ever to have graced the silver screen. Magnificent in just about every detail...