The Trip (2011)

As Good As It Gets

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

There is much to like about this unique little film - witty often improvised dialog, unbelievably beautiful landscapes of rural northern England, the food (THE FOOD!). The 2 main characters are on a road trip assignment to review various high-end restaurants. The movie captures these dining experiences and the shared time between these 2 long-time friends. The leads are very engaging although at times the underlying competitiveness of their relationship is a little off-putting and repetitive, but probably an accurate portrayal of such characters.Originally a British TV series, the film is an condensed version of one season, and the result (for time purposes) feels a little short-changed in the development of the characters. However, the overall fun in watching the movie makes this flaw acceptable.Be sure to watch the DVD bonus feature focusing on the food eaten throughout the movie as the bonus feature details the plating and preparation which are a little hurried during the main feature.A recently released film documenting this twosome on a journey in Italy should be a worthy follow-up.For my other movie reviews, please visit: https://nomorewastedmovienights.wordpress.com

The Trip is Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's vacation sitcom that is basically the two comedians going to different restaurants in the North of Britain. Now, it could be funny if they didn't have such thin material. So why in the world did they decide to cut it down into a 114 minute movie? The problems is it follows a structure that you can point out very easily. Here is what happens in every lets say 25 minutes:1. They Drive and Talk. 2. They get a room at a hotel. 3. They eat as it inner cuts 4. While they are eating, they make impressions of famous stars. 5. As Dramatic Music plays, they talk on the phone with people.Follow that same structure at least 6 times and you got a very thin movie. Oh and if your lucky:6. Steve Coogan has a Bad Dream.The impressions are spot on and funny at first, but then it just becomes hideously boring and you wish they would do something other than impressions.The food looks gorgeous and it is interesting to hear what Coogan and Brydon have to say about it as they eat pigeon, duck, lamb, scallops, soup and more rich stuff. The problem I have is that its the same thing over and over again. The structure is very basic and does not take any risks whatsoever. What if something bad happened on the road trip? What if their car broke down? What if they had a fight? Sure they argue, but it doesn't lead to anything serious. Come on! I'm dying to see something different, but all I'm getting is the same stuff over and over again!If you watched the Trailers it looks like it was going to be a hilarious movie full of comedy and food. But it lies to us. It actually is quite depressing because of the music at the end of a restaurant scene. There is rarely any music and it should have been that way throughout. I don't like this sad music. Where is the upbeat and happy music? But I guess it fits because the whole movie is Grey. Look at the poster! Does it look like a boring drama film? No! It looks exactly like a comedy but it doesn't do anything to be different!Maybe if I watched the uncut series, I would have liked it better, but I am reviewing a film. Not a comedy series.If you like food, skip this because the scenes in the restaurants are rushed. If you love comedy. Skip it because it takes no risks. If you really want fun. Don't watch it at all. It really is depressing and the ending is not funny. This movie fails at comedy. Now could you believe there is a sequel!?... I'll get to that sometime.54/100 C

We were planning to go and see the latest Trip to Italy movie and decided to rent The Trip to get a taste for the humour. What a totally boring piece of self-indulgence. Rob Bryden might be well known for his impressions, but with multiple impersonations of Michael Caine, Sean Connery as James Bond and Woody Allen leaves you feeling like he has a repertoire of 3. The rest of the movie was mildly interesting in terms of the food preparation in the kitchens and nice scenery, but it was obviously populated with actors while pretending to be a real life foodie road trip. Needless to say, we're not bothering to go and see the Trip to Italy.

HILARIOUS. COME, COME MR. BOND, YOU KNOW YOU DERIVE AS MUCH PLEASURE FROM KILLING AS I DO. I do not understand why people do not find this movie to be as funny as I do. The scenes where they are doing impersonations and drinking wine made me laugh until I cried. Must have a more developed and higher-quality sense of humor to appreciate the comedy in this movie. The best scene is when they are doing their James Bond impersonations at the table. I reinact and quote that scene quite frequently even though no one ever knows what I'm doing. I do it anyway because I myself find it to be very amusing and I love making myself laugh.