2010 | UK | Directed by Michael Winterbottom
Logline: An actor reluctantly invites his comedian colleague to join him on an assignment critiquing gastro-pubs and restaurants around the Lake District.
Edited down from a 172-minute six-part television series Michael Winterbottom successfully fashions one of the best and funniest comedy of manners in years, but it’s an acquired taste, not everyone’s cup of English breakfast tea. If your comic sensibilities have a lean toward impressions then Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon won’t disappoint. Much of the movie is comprised of their duelling impressions, each one trying to out do the other; “You were only meant to blow the bloody doors off!”
Essentially both actors are playing themselves, and almost every bit of dialogue has been improvised. In fact, there is no screenwriter credited. The rapport the two men have is effortless and hilarious. They are poles apart in personality and style, yet fit together like a jigsaw, like hand in glove. Their banter plays like a perfect game of badminton.
Steve plays an out of work actor waiting for his English and American agents to deliver him a decent gig. So he’s taken on a writing assignment for The Observer, providing critique on a selection of eateries in the fashionable country spread of the Lake District where the landscapes are as picturesque as the molecular gastronomy on some of the plates. Steve has been reticent about inviting his colleague Rob, a Welshman, as there is the hint of eternal aggravation between them, a clash of personalities that lurks just below the surface of their camaraderie.
Steve has girlfriend trouble, whereas as Rob is happily married with baby in tow. Steve is calling his girl, Mischa (Margo Stilley), when he gets the chance, but the mobile reception isn’t so good in the District. A hotel receptionist and a visiting photographer fill the gap in his lonely bed. Rob questions Steve’s perpetual lifestyle of indulgence and dating. Steve questions Rob’s reliance on impersonations.
“Come come Mr. Bond, you derive as much pleasure from killing as I do.”
There is much joy and hilarity to be had from the tennis play of impersonations between both actors, as both these men are excellent (not always perfect, but that adds to the humour); the standouts being their Michael Caine impressions, and Rob’s Ronnie Corbett. But there is also very funny moments involving other thespian and movie asides, especially a scene in the car where they deconstruct how knights of the Middle Ages would approach rising for battle. Later on the drive back to London they attempt operatic singing, another showstopper.
But there is pathos squeezed into the comic routines, and it is this element of quiet drama, no doubt courtesy of Michael Winterbottom’s clever arranging and modelling of the narrative arc, that provides The Trip with its resonant soul. This is a movie about friendship and foibles, the frailty of affectionate competition, the inherent desire to be loved, the paramount importance of bonding between like-minded raisins striving for recognition in the giant fruit salad of life.
TRAILER:
The Trip Blu-ray is courtesy of Madman Entertainment, many thanks!
