I’ve seen previews for The Trip, The Trip to Italy and The Trip to Spain, but considering I didn’t know who these two British guys were despite being a bit of an Anglophile, and I found Sideways disappointing, I thought, “Hard pass.” I finally know Steve Coogan after seeing and enjoying his performances in Philomena and Around the World in 80 Days so I was willing to give the franchise a chance. It also helped that I was soon going on a trip myself and was convalescing from a cold so I needed a film that would not demand too much from me and would get me in the right mood. Unfortunately I inadvertently watched them out of sequential order, which was not my intention or ordinary practice, but I was sick so I will review them in that order. This review is the first of three.
The Trip is a movie, which originally aired as a longer series. It feels like a documentary because the two main characters, Coogan and Rob Brydon, whom I do not know, play themselves, but it is improvised and fictional. Most of the other actors are playing fictional roles as a wife, agent, handler, etc. Coogan has an assignment to go to northern England’s finest restaurants (referred to as “the North,” which made me think of Game of Thrones, which was not their intention), but his plan to go with his girlfriend falls apart, and the only person willing to tag along is Brydon. The movie records their journey and sneaks a peak into Coogan’s oneiric interior life.
What is appealing about The Trip is the sense of seeing something private and exclusive that you would ordinarily not get a chance to see. You get to engage in a fantasy of what it is like to be moderately more famous and talented than you usually are and get catered to at every turn. Then you also get to simultaneously feel more superior than them because their insecurities are in full display. They depict themselves as needy men constantly competing in terms of accommodations, talent and attention. They are like sharks that will die if they are not constantly moving.
The Trip compares and contrasts the men by depicting how they manage being alone, with each other and with others. Coogan is someone who is constantly hustling to remain connected to the outside world: his career, his girlfriend and his family as a last resort. Brydon is content to remain in his room and talk to his wife. When they are together, Coogan is always putting his friend down, and Brydon does a great job of appearing silently wounded but still game for another round. When they are with others, they only seem fit for each other’s company as they transform their temporary companions into varying levels of willingness to be a passive audience to their banter.
Coogan seems blissfully unaware of how fortunate he is to have Brydon as a friend until someone points it out to him. The Trip is ultimately an odd couple road trip that leads to personal growth and a reassessment of what Coogan values, relationship versus fame. He begins to recognize that his ego is spoiling the view, and he begins to appreciate what he has.
The Trip is an entertaining film, but it feels like a Lifetime movie for men on the threshold of a midlife crisis, and I’m not the target audience. Ultimately The Trip is only a must see for fans of the idea of Coogan and Brydon. I suppose if you want to see beautiful country landscapes in northern England then you could give it a shot.