The Trip (not to be confused with the psychedelic 1967 Peter Fonda film of the same name) is a jovially funny and bittersweet picture about two British actors named Steve Coogan (played by Steve Coogan) and Rob Brydon (Rob Brydon also playing himself) who take off on a sponsored trip to the North of England to sample cuisine at several Michelin-starred restaurants. It’s a road movie/buddy movie, a bit like Sideways (2004) in a way, and yet really quite it’s own thing. If you are looking for a lot of story, or intrigue, or action, this is not your kind of movie. But if you are looking for laughs, droll wit, and a bit of a character study, I can recommend The Trip very highly.
This project started out as a BBC series of six half hour episodes about these two guys on their road trip. (Little bits of this are available on YouTube and elsewhere.) For the film, the running time was edited from 180 minutes down to about 107 minutes. It’s said Coogan and Brydon are playing slightly exaggerated versions of themselves. They’ve previously worked together on a number of projects, most significantly, perhaps, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2006). (That was a film about a group of actors trying to film Lawrence Sterne’s “unfilmable” 18th century satirical novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. The novel is purportedly Mr Shandy’s attempt to give the world a complete and totally honest account of his life and opinions, wherein the narrator finds himself so bogged down with the pursuit of comprehensive truth, not to mention digressions galore, that he abandons the enterprise shortly after getting himself born - at page 400 or thereabouts. The film is not so much a depiction of the actual story – to the extent there even was a story - but a free form, and seemingly improvised, depiction of the actors’ doomed attempts to do so.) In that film Coogan and Brydon, again playing themselves, were endlessly competing with and one-upping each other, and so here in The Trip as well.
What makes this picture fun is the actors’ obvious comfort with one another and (notwithstanding some feigned disdain) their enjoyment of one another. As they meander the Lake District in their Land Rover, we get to know them a bit, observing their differences (Coogan is darker and discontented, while Brydon is more secure within himself, seemingly contented with family domesticity). More significantly we can admire their obvious talents, especially their joy in doing impressions of other actors and personalities. Their competitions to do the best Michael Caine impression, or Sean Connery , or even Woody Allen, are amazing and hilarious.
Another bit that cracked me up was the depiction of the (often absurd) efforts of high end kitchens to outdo one another in food preparation and presentation. If I was at any of these places, I’d probably savor every moment, every dish. But the aroma and taste of the exotic preparations doesn’t come across on film. Instead, we see the absurdity of it all. Here’s a little snippet that gives a glimpse of our guys and the cuisine.
Another enjoyable aspect to this movie is the locations. While not worth the price of a ticket for scenic splendour alone, the North country is beautiful to behold.The Trip is also a very quotable film, and I could even see it gaining some kind of cult status..
The director, Michael Winterbottom, is quite eclectic, and has a following. I’d only seen Cock and Bull Story before The Trip, but I’m now anxious to catch up on his other stuff.
The Trip is a small film, the polar opposite of the summer blockbuster. I saw it at the San Francisco International Film Festival last month. It has just been released in New York City, but not yet in the Bay Area. Keep an eye out for it, as it may not be in theaters for long. Or put it on your Netflix list.
Here's the trailer.
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