Trip, The (2010)

Synopsis: Steve (Steve Coogan) is commissioned by a newspaper to review several restaurants in the north of England. When his girlfriend can’t go with him he asks his pal, Rob (Rob Brydon), to accompany him. Together they indulge in gourmet meals, while puttering around the wintry landscape in their car sparring verbally and impersonating some well-known characters.

The Trip was originally a six-part British TV series that has been edited into one feature-length film. It is built around the real-life personae of the two lead actors, Steve Coogan, a much-loved (in Britain at least) comedian and actor and Rob Brydon, a comic actor and impersonator regularly seen on British TV. Plot-wise, nothing much really happens and as an audience you simply go along for the ride as they wind through the magnificent countryside and into picturesque villages. But the journey is made enjoyable by the carryings-on of the pair, who are fearless mimics,  generally likeable blokes and perfect foils for each other.

Steve and Rob are like a pair of scrapping kids, constantly trying to one-up the other as they impersonate Caine, Burton, Hopkins, Pacino, De Niro, Connery and more. At times they get serious and mull over the meaning of life and getting older, along with pondering the drug-inspired poetry of Coleridge. Steve is keen to test his prowess with women and indeed some of what takes place is probably part of a male mid-life crisis, including the later impromptu eulogies for each other in a country graveyard. But aside from the serious moments, much of the dialogue is impromtu repartee.

The food is sumptuous and Winterbottom takes us into the kitchens, where chefs lovingly serving up elegant dishes. With so many pop cultural references and much self-irony, The Trip is a delightful if fluffy film with plenty of good-hearted laughs. 

 

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