Review of "The Trip"
Published 5/10/11
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon
Director Michael Winterbottom’s newest flick “The Trip” is, to put it plainly, about a trip. No ulterior motive. No misdirect necessary. Based on the British miniseries by the same name, the movie follows two British comedians as they travel through the best haute cuisine that rural Britain has to offer and talk about…well…whatever.
Steve Coogan, a British comedian, is going on this culinary expedition as research for an article for The Observer. He’s no foodie, and is now sans the girl that pushed him to pitch the concept, his American girlfriend/ex-girlfriend/somewhere-in-the-middle dweller Mischa. Lacking her companionship and in danger of spending a week in the car alone, Coogan calls Rob Brydon, a fellow comedian and sometimes competitor, best friend, and worst enemy.
The two take a trip. They eat at restaurants. They discuss the nature of comedy. They discuss their relationships. They discuss friendship, but only in the most insincere terms. In fact, their friendship becomes paramount only because of Coogan’s denial that it’s important to him.
Known mostly as a comic bit part player in the US, Coogan is quite famous in the UK for playing the character of Alan Patridge in everything from TV series’ to specials to movies. Brydon is a Welsh comedian, another familiar face to a British audience that isn’t quite as familiar in the US. Coogan and Brydon aren’t enacting reality for the cameras, but both are playing heightened versions of themselves. Coogan is a slightly depressive America-phobic performer who sees his own star falling as he ages. He is plagued by dreams that play out his worst nightmares of Hollywood, many of which are caused by his LA-based agent’s persistence in insisting he move across the pond immediately or risk becoming irrelevant. Brydon, on the other hand, is a hyperactive, compulsive impressionist who Coogan feels overshadowed by. Brydon marvels at how ridiculous his most famous comedic shtick is, but knows that Coogan is rankled by his success nonetheless.
Because of the conceit of the film, “Sideways” is the natural comparison to “The Trip.” However, while in “Sideways” the pace varied from relaxed to, at times, a forced slowness, “The Trip” is not labored with any sort of intensive plot is it is able to move at a the same rate without the story feeling slow. This, after all, is a movie about character. About Coogan and Brydon and the things they talk about. Its entertainment value lies it its humor, which lies in the endless non-sequitor impressions and rounds of bizarre conversation that Coogan and Brydon seem never to tire of. It’s an indie gastro-voyage travelled by non-foodies in search of nothing more than the evidence necessary to write an article and a shared need to always be talking. It’s a delight.
Starring: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon
Director Michael Winterbottom’s newest flick “The Trip” is, to put it plainly, about a trip. No ulterior motive. No misdirect necessary. Based on the British miniseries by the same name, the movie follows two British comedians as they travel through the best haute cuisine that rural Britain has to offer and talk about…well…whatever.
Steve Coogan, a British comedian, is going on this culinary expedition as research for an article for The Observer. He’s no foodie, and is now sans the girl that pushed him to pitch the concept, his American girlfriend/ex-girlfriend/somewhere-in-the-middle dweller Mischa. Lacking her companionship and in danger of spending a week in the car alone, Coogan calls Rob Brydon, a fellow comedian and sometimes competitor, best friend, and worst enemy.
The two take a trip. They eat at restaurants. They discuss the nature of comedy. They discuss their relationships. They discuss friendship, but only in the most insincere terms. In fact, their friendship becomes paramount only because of Coogan’s denial that it’s important to him.
Known mostly as a comic bit part player in the US, Coogan is quite famous in the UK for playing the character of Alan Patridge in everything from TV series’ to specials to movies. Brydon is a Welsh comedian, another familiar face to a British audience that isn’t quite as familiar in the US. Coogan and Brydon aren’t enacting reality for the cameras, but both are playing heightened versions of themselves. Coogan is a slightly depressive America-phobic performer who sees his own star falling as he ages. He is plagued by dreams that play out his worst nightmares of Hollywood, many of which are caused by his LA-based agent’s persistence in insisting he move across the pond immediately or risk becoming irrelevant. Brydon, on the other hand, is a hyperactive, compulsive impressionist who Coogan feels overshadowed by. Brydon marvels at how ridiculous his most famous comedic shtick is, but knows that Coogan is rankled by his success nonetheless.
Because of the conceit of the film, “Sideways” is the natural comparison to “The Trip.” However, while in “Sideways” the pace varied from relaxed to, at times, a forced slowness, “The Trip” is not labored with any sort of intensive plot is it is able to move at a the same rate without the story feeling slow. This, after all, is a movie about character. About Coogan and Brydon and the things they talk about. Its entertainment value lies it its humor, which lies in the endless non-sequitor impressions and rounds of bizarre conversation that Coogan and Brydon seem never to tire of. It’s an indie gastro-voyage travelled by non-foodies in search of nothing more than the evidence necessary to write an article and a shared need to always be talking. It’s a delight.
