Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are on the road again with director Michael Winterbottom, this time in Italy. There's not much else to say about the plot of "The Trip to Italy" unless you're unfamiliar with 2010's "The Trip," in which case go watch that movie first. Not because you need to know information about the first, but you need to know where the whole shtick is coming from.
"Trip to Italy" is more impersonations, more gorgeous scenery (the Amalfi Coast, seriously ), more plated food, more phone calls to loved ones back home, more poetry, more everything from the northern England "trip." It's a formula that worked the first time because of the wild improvisational talents of its leads but also the way they stay grounded. By and large it works here, only the novelty has worn off a bit.
Story-wise, Winterbottom has flipped the script in a couple subtle but key ways, starting with Rob calling Steve to invite him to Italy as he's become the food writer now, or at least equal with Steve. This is the first of many role-reversals in store for the fictional versions of Rob and Steve, whose lives have clearly changed since the last trip. Although these persona narratives are shifting, they're still as goofy, chummy, career-focused and fixated on their age and legacies as ever.
Mortality is a particular focus of conversation. Aging, their sex appeal, what they might still accomplish before their deaths – their time in Vesuvius, for example, leaves them "petrified" as Rob jokes. Winterbottom definitely steers the dialogue in this direction more purposefully than last time, but Steve and Rob keep it lighthearted and enjoyable while still allowing for some salient ideas to emerge.
The comedy stays the course as well, with a number of callbacks to jokes from the first film including brief Michael Caine bits and James Bond impressions. In most comedy sequels, that would be annoying, cheap and a sign of a terrible cash-grabbing middle finger to the audience who deserves some original material. But "The Trip" resembled a real-life road trip and when two friends go on a second trip together, they often recall the jokes that gave them a laugh and good memories the last time.
We do get some new impersonations and quite a bit of Alanis Morrisette karaoke, the least fitting backdrop for a tour of Italia as you could ever imagine. The laugh-out-loud moments get a bit scarcer and the impersonations a bit more grating – though in fairness I did watch "The Trip" very recently so those who've taken a longer hiatus won't likely feel the same.
"The Trip to Italy" loses a bit of comic luster as sequels tend to do, but the feeling of being on a road trip vacation that made "The Trip" so pleasant washes over you yet again. The ending leaves a bit to be desired but on the whole it's a satisfying continuation of the antics and style that fans of "The Trip" effortlessly enjoyed.
~Steven C
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"Trip to Italy" is more impersonations, more gorgeous scenery (the Amalfi Coast, seriously ), more plated food, more phone calls to loved ones back home, more poetry, more everything from the northern England "trip." It's a formula that worked the first time because of the wild improvisational talents of its leads but also the way they stay grounded. By and large it works here, only the novelty has worn off a bit.
Story-wise, Winterbottom has flipped the script in a couple subtle but key ways, starting with Rob calling Steve to invite him to Italy as he's become the food writer now, or at least equal with Steve. This is the first of many role-reversals in store for the fictional versions of Rob and Steve, whose lives have clearly changed since the last trip. Although these persona narratives are shifting, they're still as goofy, chummy, career-focused and fixated on their age and legacies as ever.
Mortality is a particular focus of conversation. Aging, their sex appeal, what they might still accomplish before their deaths – their time in Vesuvius, for example, leaves them "petrified" as Rob jokes. Winterbottom definitely steers the dialogue in this direction more purposefully than last time, but Steve and Rob keep it lighthearted and enjoyable while still allowing for some salient ideas to emerge.
The comedy stays the course as well, with a number of callbacks to jokes from the first film including brief Michael Caine bits and James Bond impressions. In most comedy sequels, that would be annoying, cheap and a sign of a terrible cash-grabbing middle finger to the audience who deserves some original material. But "The Trip" resembled a real-life road trip and when two friends go on a second trip together, they often recall the jokes that gave them a laugh and good memories the last time.
We do get some new impersonations and quite a bit of Alanis Morrisette karaoke, the least fitting backdrop for a tour of Italia as you could ever imagine. The laugh-out-loud moments get a bit scarcer and the impersonations a bit more grating – though in fairness I did watch "The Trip" very recently so those who've taken a longer hiatus won't likely feel the same.
"The Trip to Italy" loses a bit of comic luster as sequels tend to do, but the feeling of being on a road trip vacation that made "The Trip" so pleasant washes over you yet again. The ending leaves a bit to be desired but on the whole it's a satisfying continuation of the antics and style that fans of "The Trip" effortlessly enjoyed.
~Steven C
Thanks for reading. Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more