Review of The Trip (2011) by Clarisesamuels — 24 Dec 2014

The Trip is a 2010 movie I downloaded from Netflix, partly because I was very impressed with Steve Coogan in Philomena, where he starred and co-wrote the screenplay. The Trip is a romp, and it’s one of those romps that turn out to be more fun for the actors than the audience, although that’s not to say that the audience can’t enjoy it too. But it’s always a problem when actors play themselves in a movie. What is to be gained by playing yourself in a movie that creates an otherwise fictionalized setting? In The Trip, it turns out to be very little. Actors usually hide behind their characters, and they can freely play out the best and worst instincts known to humanity—that’s what actors do; it is their profession. But when they play themselves, which is not recommended, they hide behind their character only selectively, wanting to aggrandize their best characteristics, and when the human foibles are portrayed, well, that’s just the fictional part, or at the very least, as Coogan insisted in an interview, it’s an exaggeration. Trying to figure out which parts are real and which are exaggerated or just pure fiction becomes the challenge for the audience, who has better things to think about than the faults to be found in Steve Coogan and his co-star, Rob Brydon,.

In short, The Trip centers on Coogan getting a magazine commission reviewing the best restaurants in Northern England, where one can find exquisite haute cuisine that would rival Paris. England is generally not known for such superb fare, a reputation that goes back at least a couple of centuries. (Heinrich Heine traveled to England in 1827 and said that when he left, he threw himself at the feet of the first French chef he met.) Coogan admits that in real life he would never accept such a commission, and that he has no skill in the art of culinary critique. In the movie, he also has no such skill. He never once inquires about ingredients, never once savors a trace of rosemary or marjoram, and when given an elaborately mixed green drink that was the pride of the house, his only remark was that it looked like snot. That’s fine for real life, but in the fiction played out in the film, how did Coogan earn his commission?

Instead, the trip is an excuse to celebrate a bromance between two very talented, attractive, and charismatic British actors, because that is who they are in real life. They rib each other, put each other down, and enjoy a rivalry that centers on who can sing the most octaves and who can do the best impersonation of Michael Caine, James Bond (differentiating between Connery and Moore), and Woody Allen. Coogan wins hands down with Woody Allen—his impersonation of the famous Brooklyn stutter is so perfect, it almost sounds like a voice-over.

The two actors are charming, almost irresistible. But when it comes to women, Brydon has thrown in the towel and is faithfully married (both in the film and in real life), while Coogan is a real jerk with women (both in the film and in real life). The film has him a little depressed, because Mischa (Margo Stilley), his girlfriend, refused to go on the trip with him and instead went to the States to further her career. But in spite of his romantic grief, he still picks up a pretty clerk in his rural hotel. The next morning he barely bids her adieu; it’s not clear that he even knows her name. This behavior, it later comes out in the plot, is routine for Coogan. In real life, Coogan is happily paired up with a woman half his age (he’s 49), who is a model best known for her cheesy lingerie ads that make her look like she’s a 40DD. Now, was that an “exaggeration” in the film when he was depicted as being a cad who has minimal respect for intelligent women? Will the real Steve Coogan please stand up?

In the future, Coogan should stick to fictional characters who allow him to forget himself. It’s for the best. Nevertheless, The Trip entertains even as it bewilders.