Monday, June 27, 2011

The Trip

Even us amateur film critics are sometimes done in by a film that it's impossible to be objective about. There are just those movies that are completely in one's wheelhouse. They might not be for everybody but they seem tailor-made for you. This is one of those films. I loved everything about it. It stars Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden, playing themselves, taking a trip to the north of England to review restaurants. They drive to a restaurant, they eat there, and they bicker, or else compete at impersonations. That's about it, and it's very possible that this film might annoy you to no end. But I loved their interactions, and the scenery, and the music by Michael Nyman, and I loved that ultimately their niggling competitiveness revealed both their friendship and their fears, particularly Steve Coogan's hyper-awareness of his fading potential. To me, it was the perfect balance of humor and sentiment (90/10?). My favorite film, so far, of the year.

1 comment:

  1. Now this isn't your fault, of course, but we really could have used this review this past weekend when we were trying to figure out if there was a movie out there we felt like seeing. It would have tipped the scales towards it definitely.

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