The Trip to Italy

If you liked The Trip, you will like this one, as it is basically the same movie. The same people, the same jokes, the same outdoors and food shots. The only thing that changed is that instead of 44, they are now closer to 50. Their hair is more gray and less. How they relate to the world has changed, children grew up. And, of course, they're in Italy.

To me, one of the failings of the film is that it doesn't really portray the places so well. I understand it's a character piece, but by limiting the surroundings, they also make the movie feel more like a play, diminished in scope, if not in meaning.

Still, if you watched The Trip and wanted more, watch this, too.

The Trip to Italy is a sequel to the little known, little seen 2010 film The Trip, which in itself is a highlight reel of a little known, little seen BBC miniseries of the same name. Each reiteration of this franchise, I guess you could call it, feels like the rotating lenses of a microscope, filling in more detail while getting ever smaller in scope and appeal. Who exactly is this movie for? I'm not quite sure but whoever is on its wavelength will probably have a ball.

The Trip to Italy revisits Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as they are once again conscripted by the London Observer to eat at and review multiple restaurants. This time instead of driving through the foggy moors of Northern England, the duo drive their rented Mini Cooper through the sunny coasts of Italy. While doing so they once again trade witty repartee, relight professional rivalries and whip out their best Michael Caine impressions.

Its basically the same setup as the first only the location and power dynamic between our two leads is a bit more interesting. Coogan's star seems to have taken a dip since the cancellation of his American TV series. Meanwhile the less misanthropic Brydon is being courted by director Michael Mann for a billed part in a crime drama. Insecurities and the specter of aging into obsolescence abounds in this sequel, and the Italian countryside and tales of the Romantics serve beautifully as a stark juxtaposition.

Director Michael Winterbottom takes every opportunity to indulge in the sun and scenic poetry of Italy. As the characters retrace the steps of the romantics, Winterbottom takes delight in lifting visual cues from mainstay international cinema such as the bumpy road trips of Il Sorpasso (1962), the luxurious schooners of Purple Noon (1960) and the general feeling of ennui from La Dolce Vita (1960). As the film wears on, the actors become entrenched in a background literally alive with history, unable to make their pithy comments take you out of the beauty (though it's not for lack of trying.

Yet the same things that bogged down The Trip from being the best version of itself are still purposely present in Trip to Italy. There are the same insufferably self-centered characters, the same conversations and improvisational impressions, the same inattention to the freaking food! Seriously, I realize that oafish behavior set against the truly beautiful is partially the point but how do you NOT make Italian food the center of attention? Thankfully the two surly actors have much more to interact with. Actresses Marta Barrio and Rosie Fellner actually show up to dinner instead of being relegated to bits of cellphone asides. Steve's son (as played by Timothy Leach) shows up as well allowing us to see how two middle-aged men in a perpetual existential crises handle being around a child for a few minutes.

Overall Trip to Italy is in my mind a smidgen better than its predecessor and only because it trades temperate gloom for Mediterranean sunniness. But if you're the type who finds the fields, fog and verdant bluffs of England more appealing then the opposite might be true for you. Regardless, your ability to take this trilogy (so far) is wholly dependent on your ability to stomach two actors winging-it while sitting across from one another. I personally found my patience eroding by the minute.

I was hesitant taking another trip w/ Steve and Rob in that I so much loved the first film and thought this film might be a letdown and was never going to expectations set by the first film. No need for worries, this film was just as good, just as funny and better still, both Steve and Rob have remained (aside from Coogan's haircut) them old selves, changing little from when we left them in Northern England, a perfect mixture of affability and arrogance, quick witted, sometimes to the point of absurdity, sprinkled with a tinge of melancholy.

If you love British humour, travel & beautiful scenery, fine food, movies, literature and poetry, and beautiful women......(pretty much all things worth living for)... than this is the movie to watch.

Steve: (looking at a beautiful hotel receptionist walking past) She's has a lovely gait.

Rob: Yes, probably padlocked.

Hilarious!

This is a real smart movie.. Taking your rhythm and anxiety to a very peaceful zone, restore your serinity.. I admit, it's a bit boring.. But this is the idea.. Sort of relaxation you should surrender to the stream and give up your regular thoughts about love, sex, excitement, show Biz, etc.. Just let the sun shine on your face. I encourage to make it series movies, but don't be so specific in the dialogue to movie biz, make it more rich to suit other people and different occasions.. Maintain the slow rhythm and ambience.. No music is a good idea.. Nature and scenes are suburb and sufficient glamorous.. Great GREAT!! I FOUND MYSELF PAYING FULL ATTENTION DURING THE PLAY..

If anybody is familiar with either of this pair, The Trip To Italy is really a must see series/film. The first instalment from these two, The Trip, which was set in the Lake District was initially a series & then released widely as a film. This new version is much of the same, and as the title suggests, yes you've guessed it, sees this clever duo wining & dining in some great Italian locations. The series is very easy to watch, clever, witty, and with superb impressions, but most of all the on screen chemistry this pair have is what makes the show. They bounce off each other perfectly, & in terms of great on screen pairings, they are right up there with some of the best. I honestly can't recommend this enough, i have scored it a nine, simply because i have only watched the opening two episodes, but if it carries on in the same form, it will be getting a big fat Ten !!

Top Class Telly.