Review: The Trip to Italy

Comedians and frequent collaborators Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon take on another tour of fine dining and comedic riffing, this time throughout Italy. Meanwhile, Coogan is seeking a closer relationship with his son, whilst Brydon is seemingly unhappy and restless in his marriage. Oh, and they also have Alanis Morrisette’s ‘Jagged Little Pill’ playing in the car for some reason (Hey, I have the album too, don’t get me wrong, I just think it’s really random to find it in this).

 

Like the terrific predecessor, “The Trip”, this 2014 follow-up from director Michael Winterbottom (“9 Songs”, “24 Hour Party People”, “The Killer Inside Me”) was first seen on British TV in several parts. Unlike the terrific predecessor, this one’s not terrific. In fact it’s more of the same, only worse, and with a few key changes that are absolutely not for the better. Both films are essentially faux-documentaries with the leads playing versions of themselves, and featuring actors playing the leads’ families and other assorted characters, in a film that is scripted but heavy on improvisation. It worked last time because the personas projected on screen matched the public perception of the glib, vain and competitive Steve Coogan, and the affable, if sometimes irritatingly self-pleased Rob Brydon. Coogan the star who thinks he’s worth more than he has gotten, and with a personal life in shambles was complemented by Brydon’s happily married, likeable character. This time around it’s Coogan who is trying to reconnect with family, and Brydon’s the one seemingly going through a midlife crisis and noticing other women. Unfortunately, as much as Brydon is probably right to say that he’s less affable than people think, he’s still clearly too affable and straight-laced to convince as someone with a wandering eye and no shame about it (The fact that he’s so affable that he can get away with saying that he’s affable without sounding like he’s full of himself, really says a lot about him. He’s clearly a good person, and that’s the problem).

 

It plays out incredibly unconvincingly, and unlike last time I found myself acutely aware that this was fiction. The earlier film had actors in the other parts, of course, but I noticed it more this time around. Part of the reason, however, should also be blamed on the fact that the film just isn’t fresh nor as funny as last time out. Changing the dynamic between Brydon and Coogan, whilst fatal to the film, isn’t exactly what I would call doing something original, either. It’s simply a role-reversal and an unconvincing one. But as I said, the film’s just not nearly as funny. Sure, the impersonations were uneven last time (neither guy could do a good impression of anyone from America, for instance, something they prove yet again here), but when they were on, they were dead-on and extremely funny. I’m still laughing at the duelling Michael Caine impersonations, the Christopher Lee as Scaramanga impersonations, and however in the hell we managed to go from ABBA to “Inglourious Basterds” I’ll never know, but it nearly caused me to literally bust a gut.

 

I knew we were in trouble early on here when Brydon confuses Sylvester the Cat for a Hanna-Barbera creation (He’s a Looney Tunes character, you tit!), quotes “The Godfather Part III” when he’s actually talking about “Part II”, and does his awful Pacino impersonation yet again. And then they discuss sequels not being as good. Yeah, they did that gag in “Muppets Most Wanted” too, guys. It was better in that one (One of the few things about that film that didn’t suck). After ten minutes they are giving us a repeat performance of the duelling Michael Caine’s. They’re great at it, so I don’t mind, but it does show a lack of originality. We even get a slight reworking of the eulogy scene from the first, by having Brydon give an acceptance speech on behalf of Coogan for his Lifetime Achievement Award, because Brydon has killed him. Ugh. Thankfully we also have a great bit about Tom Hardy and Christian Bale on the set of “The Dark Knight Rises” driving crew members insane with their impenetrable voices. Brydon’s Christian Bale sounds like Brando, and I think intentionally so, making it even funnier, but Coogan’s Tom Hardy is particularly funny.

 

There’s definitely some funny stuff here, whether it’s Brydon all alone in a hotel room trying out some of his schtick and morphing into Tom Jones, or Brydon imitating Parky interviewing Coogan, which legitimately cracks Coogan up. You certainly never saw Coogan break up at anything Brydon did in the previous film. We also get two very funny (and accurate) duelling Roger Moore’s this time around. I also loved Coogan’s absolutely brilliant reaction shot where he can tell Brydon’s leading up to his (seriously brilliant) ‘man in a box’ routine. It’s a priceless moment, ruined only slightly by the fact that Rob actually doesn’t do the routine as well as he normally does. And that typifies the film’s humour, really. Spotty. They are clearly off their game this time. Brydon’s Dustin Hoffman has improved greatly from the first film, but the only reason why Coogan can be said to do a better De Niro impersonation is because Brydon’s is appalling. The film also has a terribly anticlimactic ending, a sudden stop out of nowhere.

 

No, this film just isn’t good enough. There are moments, but a miscalculation in the dynamic, and two stars being off their game (Brydon especially, much as I normally prefer him greatly over Coogan) bring this one down to a very average (and bordering on poor) rating. It’s also more interested in food and scenery than comedy this time around, which I think is a mistake as well. Pretty lazy film.

 

Rating: C