 | Watch The Trip to Italy (2014) online Run time: 108 min Rating: 7.7 Genres: Comedy | Drama Stars: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Rosie Fellner |
| Storyline Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy. Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri. | |
| Plot Keywords: road movie, based on tv show, second part, sequel | |
| Details: | |
| Box Office Opening Weekend: $71,712 (USA) (15 August 2014) Gross: $304,131 (USA) (22 August 2014) | |
As with their first "The Trip", I've had ambivalent feelings about these Coogan/Brydon travel/food/comedy serials. This new series follows much of the first.
ReplyDeleteIf you loved the first, that's good news. But the program is a mixed bag to where you really have to call out the good and the bad.
First, the good. Coogan and Brydon have a great personal chemistry that comes off in the series as something unscripted. The locations are gorgeous, and the soundtrack adds to the grandeur of place. The series is also somewhat groundbreaking in introducing a genre of travel-food- comedy, which has its merits.
The restaurants featured in the series are researched and quite extraordinary. And the literary trail of the likes of Byron and Shelley add a cultural relevance to the program where, I would have to say, I would enjoy partaking in such a Magical Mystery Tour myself.
Next, the bad. If you removed the impersonations of Michael Caine, Sean Connery, etc., 70% of the program would be on the cutting room floor. There are few themes of humor in the program, and they are mercilessly beaten to an absolute pulp. Can you imagine spending a week-long vacation in Italy with a friend who basically ran the same gag everywhere you went?
This makes the program the Beavis & Butthead of the BBC set. If the gag gets old or doesn't work for you, the show has little else to offer you besides a few good visual scenes with the sound turned off.
Like the Magical Mystery Tour, the show's arc comes off as rather aimless and without a real destination. If the joy is in the travel, and some of it is, that would be one thing. But if there's no joy in bad impersonation banter of actors from years gone by, there's too much to redeem itself.
As a whole, the program offers glimpses of creative ideas and possibilities while failing to execute to their potential. Injecting an actual scriptwriter might have seemed anathema to the program's vision and goals, but there are few programs I've seen this year that so sorely could have improved with just one decent writer.
Truthfully, I walked into the theatre expecting some fun based upon such a high IMDb review. The premise of two respected comedians doing a semi- scripted trip around a set of Italian restaurants had some good potential.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it became quickly clear that this was a very self-indulgent "selfie". Apparently more so for Brydon, whose non-stop impressions became tiresome about half way through the movie. There certainly were a consistent run of chuckles, but there were no really funny moments.
Unless you're a film buff, dozens of vague (and potentially funny) references would be lost upon the audience. The college-level humour was lost on much of the audience and many walked out without that "just saw a fun movie" look on their faces.
The scenes involving the kitchens and restaurants were too brief and didn't really set any sense of place or any real love of the food being served. There was no "love" in the way the food was presented and no appreciation of the food by the characters. The premise was that one of them is writing an article about travelling to six restaurants, no?
There was no real discovery of the two stories of Brydon's unhappy marital situation or Coogan's desire to be closer to his son. We could have added some discussion between the men about their respective challenges. Instead, all we got was improvised conversation between two guys that would have normal customers asking the staff to shut them up. The only tender moments were left to the final 30 seconds of each of the six days.
Was the director trying to accomplish too much or was there a lack of skill presenting the parallel stories? I don't know.
The scenery and the food stole this otherwise disappointing show. We walked out of there thinking of our next menu.
What really hit my partner and I about the film was the boredom at the end of each day as each character met with Brydon's dismissive wife too busy with her work and being a single mum at home with a young child or Coogan just going to sleep, bored and listening to his ipad playing music. Seriously, if the actors are that bored, then how can we be entertained?
I loved the first series and was over the moon when I heard that these comedy legends were getting together again.
ReplyDeleteThey work so well together and in my opinion bring out the best in each other. The fact that they play a slightly altered version of themselves is so clever and so believable that I'm certain some viewers will be entirely taken in by some of the racier elements of the story. In fact I'm sure both actors will have had some quite serious discussions with their families to set the record straight.
Loved the scenery, the real sense of Italy, the fabulous foods and above all the hilarious back-and-forth between Rob and Steve.
Can't wait for the next series!
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 !!
ReplyDeleteTop Class Telly.