review by Matthew Buchanan Crew
The Trip 2011
Watched Oct 08, 2011
Matthew Buchanan’s review:
If you’ve come across this at all, it is probably via the “duelling Michael Caines” clip which was a hit on YouTube. This feature, which began life as a short television series, is the extended remix of that clip.
Serial funny men Coogan and Brydon take a largely unscripted restaurant tour through England’s north, as an assignment for The Observer. Their improvised antics are punctuated by sprawling country landscapes (mostly while Coogan searches for cell coverage) and glorious food cinematography as the camera benignly observes the cooking process in the kitchens of their various destinations.
There’s a sweet, revealing undercurrent here of the real relationship between these two, and of the grass-is-greener, single vs spoken-for dynamic that underpins what little narrative the film offers.
The series, which is basically a 6 hour extended directors cut broken into parts, is also amazing.
I heart these two guys so much. Added to watchlist; cheers Matt.
Have yet to seen the film, but the series was fantastic - very funny, very awkward, beautifully shot and unexpectedly touching. The whole 'Gentlemen, to bed!' conversation is a new classic.