(Bickering buds with killer wits hit the road to sample food? Sign me up…)
CAST: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Margo Stilly, Claire Keelan.
DIRECTOR: Michael Winterbottom
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and two rather combative, mobile restaurant critics straight ahead.
Ah, the road trip. Is there a more fun experience out there? Besides scuba diving and backpacking, that is (both of which we managed to do yesterday - talk about a productive day). There’s just something about piling into a car (with someone else driving, of course) and heading for distant destinations that are sometimes unknown. It helps immensely if you have companions that are witty, funny, gracious, and intelligent. Then the trip goes from being awesome to sublime, because there’s sure to be some stellar hilarity in addition to the great scenery.
The heroes of of our next review are real-life good pals: hard-partying Steve Coogan (Steve Coogan) and centered family man Rob Brydon (Rob Brydon). In a thoroughly “WTF?” move, these two actors are essentially playing themselves in this largely fictitious story wherein Steve is asked by the London paper The Observer to take a tour of Northern England’s restaurants and write a review of the food and his trip in general. Hence, that title. Anyhow, Steve calls Rob at the last minute to accompany him, because his half-his-age American gal pal Mischa (Margo Stilley) has broken up with him - and he doesn’t exactly relish the idea of touring the North on his own.
The rest of the movie pretty much consists of Steve and Rob winding their way up north, and engaging the following: (1) gorgeous British country scenery; (2) delicious food; (3) endless bickering in the car; and (4) impersonations of the following actors: Michael Caine, Hugh Grant, Sean Connery, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Woody Allen, Dustin Hoffman, and Ron Jeremy. Okay, I was kidding about that last one. Or am I? Through it all, these two manage to alternately get on each other’s nerves - and touch each other’s hearts. Awwwwwwwwww…
How will this culinary road trip end? Will Steve end up killing Rob? Or vice versa? What happens when Steve and Rob open up to each other? Will Rob convince Steve to stop living a shallow life of partying and dancing and drinking with people half his age and aim for something more meaningful? Will this trip bring them together as friends? Or will they both move on? And how will all that food change them? Will the newspaper foot the bill when they find out how much they ate?
We’ll see. All I can say is this: the only thing better than wine-tasting road trip (so been there, so done that) is a restaurant road trip (our next road trip - YEAH!).
BUT, SERIOUSLY: When it became clear the I would have to change our Valentine’s line-up due to time reasons, I turned to my endless file of suggestions. I chose one of the most intriguing ones, the 2010 British import THE TRIP - which is a Valentine to tempestuous friendships everywhere. I’ve always thought that friendships are like marriages - they have ups and downs and are like the seasons, going through cycles and often renewing themselves again. This movie echoes that sentiment with a nicely tart combo of acid humor and understated melancholy.
In past reviews, we’ve talked about the art of improv, and how it can be both glorious and tedious at the same time. When done well, it can seem natural and organic to the characters and their interactions - and if done well in comedy, it can result in some truly inspired comic gold. A good example is most of Vince Vaughn’s oeuvre, especially WEDDING CRASHERS (review # 436), where his spontaneous riffs and zingers are hilariously electric and are one of that movie‘s highlights. However, when done incorrectly or sloppily, the results can be meandering and artificial, and can weaken a film, as we discovered in HUMPDAY (review # 424) and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (review coming).
In THE TRIP, we fortunately have an example of improv done very right. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are gifted comedians, and their banter is both sharply witty and warmly endearing at the same time. Their impressions are priceless, with the one of Michael Caine being so dead-on, it’s almost frightening. They are essentially playing themselves here, but also slightly-altered version of themselves. I don’t know if Steve is truly a party animal in real life, or if Rob is a dedicated family man, but these “personalities” come across vividly onscreen. As a result, we end up getting something of an “arc” for each of them. Their trip wouldn’t be as funny and satisfying as it is if we didn’t buy into their “characters” and their friendship.
Then there’s all that gorgeous Northern British countryside. I’ve taken a train across Britain and one road trip, and the images here bring all those memories back. Windswept moors, rain-streaked roads, sleepy inns, gunmetal skies that seem to make all that green pop like something out of Vermeer painting. Or, as Steve himself says in one scene, “out of a Turner painting”. While THE TRIP is an intensely verbal film, it is also a very visual one. Just as all of Steve and Rob’s seemingly meandering conversations eventually lead to an emotional climax, so too do all those gorgeous images lead to a revelation of their own at the end. In short, this story is told through words and pictures - and it does so vividly.
In the end, THE TRIP is a welcome addition to our Valentine’s 2012 Celebration. It’s a Valentine to the road trips we go on with our friends, and to the friendships themselves which are as exciting and thrilling as a rollercoaster ride.
