THE TRIP TO ITALY
UK, 2014, 105 minutes, Colour.
Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
Who would not want to go on a trip to Italy? And, one might suppose, that after seeing this film quite a number of members of the audience will definitely have Italy very high on their places to visit.
This is a particular trip, similar to the one that Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon took some years ago around the northern areas of England, travelling together, stopovers at hotels, visiting historic sites, but mainly going to restaurants where they enjoyed the culinary delights of the area and Brydon was, allegedly, writing up articles for a newspaper.
Well, the newspaper has commissioned him again and he invites Steve Coogan, who is a touch reluctant, to join him on a trip around Italy. People might think that scenic England is beautiful but most of us would have to admit just how beautiful Italy and its different regions are. In this film, the duo visit Piemonte, the Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Rome and its environs, Naples and Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. It is picture postcard material – but photographed vividly alive and beautiful.
If you are a gourmet, you may well enjoy the meals – although the film does not delay over them, perhaps the duo are too absorbed by the sites. In the first film, Steve Coogan had a loose kind of tongue and a roving eye. This time, he is more concerned about his teenage son back at home in London and, eventually, inviting him to join the trip. It is Brydon who has the roving eye now, taking up with an attractive woman on a boat, later wondering whether he should renew the acquaintance and asking the advice of a close friend, somewhat concerned as he is about his behaviour and his family.
Perhaps it needs to be pointed out that this is all fiction – probably an opportunity for Coogan to portray a more controlled man than before and for Brydon to fictitiously break out.
Audiences of the first film may remember the imitations of Michael Caine, especially from his being in Batman. They are back again plus many, many more, most of them very amusing, the two of them being excellent mimics and impersonators. There are also some comparisons about their careers, Brydon getting an opportunity to go to LA for a film directed by Michael Mann, Coogan talking about his career and its extent. Some of this is fictitious, some of it true.
This is an easy kind of film to watch, entertaining while it is up there on the screen, wondering at the beauty of Italy, interest in the presentation of the meals (it is noticeable that all the chefs presented are male!), entertainment in listening to the two stars.
Nobody would mind if there were another film which opened up another country, its scenery and its culinary interests.
1. The popularity of the first film, travelling, scenery, the restaurants, the food, the service? The personal stories?
2. The sequel as welcome, going to Italy, the meals, the travel, the scenery, the conversations, the repartee?
3. The setup, Rob Brydon and the invitation to do the trip? Phoning Steve? The decision to go?
4. The hiring of the car, travelling around Italy, the visual beauty, Piedmont, Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Rome and Campagna, Naples, Capri. Campania, Vesuvius and Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast?
5. The range of music, the classics and opera, Alanis Morissette and her songs and lyrics? Jokes about her and her popularity?
6. The blend of fact and fiction? The two men and their real names? Yet not their real stories? Rob Brydon and his branching out, the affair, his wife and daughter, the effect on him, confiding in people and asking their advice? Steve Coogan and his wife, separation, 16-year-old son, talking with him on Skype, inviting him to join the trip? The bond between father and son?
7. The characters, issues, behaviour?
8. Audience response to each of the performers? As actors, comedians?
9. The dialogue, written, improvised, the jokes, the two playing off each other, discussions about themselves, sexual identity, relationships? The various women they met? Going on the yacht? At the hotels? At meals? Rob Brydon and his confiding, his pregnant friend, the hesitations? Steve and the meals, meeting his son, going for the walk, the swim? Understanding him?
10. The visit to Pompeii, Rob Brydon and his conversation with the dead man, the different voices – and Steve Coogan walking off and seeming not to approve?
11. The mimicry of Michael Caine from the first film, continuing, the many impersonations, movie sequences and dialogue, the various James Bonds and their voices, the Al Pacino sequences, The Godfather, Dustin Hoffman? The discussions of films, Jude Law and his baldness, Hollywood, Rob and his audition going to Hollywood, Steve and his career, attitude towards Los Angeles?
12. The food, the visuals, the chefs, the kitchens, the waiters, serving the food, the appearance of the food, audiences sharing in the visuals and the discussions about taste?
13. The film doing great promotion for visitors to go to Italy?
