FILM REVIEW: Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon deliver yet another funny journey on "The Trip To Spain"
Byrdon and Coogan return with their delightful blend of the comedic and the culinary. In this case, The Trip to Spain delivers precisely what we’ve come to expect from the series. Beautiful scenery, amazing food and a couple of weather beaten male comedians who flit between self-deprecation and vanity. It may be odd to be relieved that a film almost exactly duplicates the effects of its predecessors, but the Trip series makes for a tight formula that doesn’t require any balancing or tinkering.
Like the two films before it, I am left wondering how much of the real Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan is revealed on screen. I also wonder who approaches whom to create these culinary adventures. Are Rob and Steve called upon to gallivant across magnificent countryside, dining in Michelin-rated restaurants? Or do they beg their respective managers to do another yummy, funny film? Regardless, I am injected with a healthy dose of jealously when I imagine myself doing the same.
But it’s not just about the food, or the winding landscapes; it’s about the captivating dynamic between Coogan and Brydon. The Englishman and Welshman create the perfect blend of a cool but chummy relationship with a dash of egotistical friction. Ironically, the relationship between the pair feels the most genuine when they’re competing to outdo one another with increasingly involved impressions. Ah, those impressions, quite possibly the highlight for many who have watched the Trip triptych, evidenced by the miasma of YouTube clips of the pair taking on everyone from Sean Connery to Michael Cane.
If you have seen either of the Trip films before it, Spain, is a worthy addition to the trilogy. It’s no Before Series but it is certainly a raucous display of male peacocking bound to wrestle a chuckle out of the sternest of Englishmen.
