The Trip to Italy

I'm a huge fan of Michael Winterbottom's work which is fully on display in this modest travel journal of two friends discovering the joys of Italy. Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon, the friends in question, I'll admit are an acquired taste; one that I've not yet...acquired. I kept resisting the urge to just mute the sound so I didn't have to listen to their inane, extremely irritating, babblings was only because Strauss and Mahler were used expertly on the soundtrack. And who would want to miss that? The food, the scenery and an undefined longing are all very appealing. But the self-centered mugging by the two, which we're clued to think is adorable by women, I just think needs a warning to any viewer. Try to shut them out. 'Cause they never shut up.

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.

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!

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.

This movies falls into those genres that are dialogue heavy. For such movies to be successful the characters and dialogue needs to be very compelling. Based in Italy, the backdrop was beautiful at times but hardly enough to carry such a boring and pretentious movie. It's like the Italian version of 'before midnight' except with no romance or plot line. Just two middle aged British men rambling on, going from restaurant to restaurant and making daft impressions This is like the Italian version of before midnight with no romance or plot line.I am not sure what the director was trying to get at. I think this could be a good movie if you are trying to get to sleep out of sheer boredom on a long haul flight but hardly for entertainment pleasure.