THE TRIP TO GREECE

UK, 2020, 103 minutes, Colour.
Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Michael Towns, Kareem Alkabbani, Claire Keelan, Rebecca Johnson, Tim Leach, Richard Clews.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom.

For almost a decade, audiences have enjoyed both the television series and the film versions of The Trip. It began in the north of England but later there were international travels, to Italy and to Spain. And now, The Trip to Greece.

Audiences who have visited Greece will be delighted with an overview of the scenic delights of Greece. Audiences who have not visited Greece will also be delighted – and thinking of possible plans for a trip. This time Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon decide to follow the route of Odysseus and his travelling home from the Trojan War to his wife Penelope at Ithaca. Which means that they start in Turkey near Troy, travel through the Aegean, via Lesbos, memories of Sappho, to the amphitheatre at Epidaurus, donning theatrical masks and miming, to Athens and the Piraeus, to Macedon and memories of Aristotle and Alexander the Great (and some criticisms of this conqueror), to Mount Olympus, to the site of the Olympic Games, and to further sites westward.

Audiences will expect a lot of gourmet touches – and they won’t be disappointed, even if the meal sequences are shorter than might have been expected, and there is the continued distraction of the scenery outside, as well is the patter and banter between the two in their competitiveness and their impersonations. But, we are taken behind-the-scenes, a variety of kitchens, chefs with their skills, waiters and their style of service. So, no disappointment in what is served here.

Along the way, there are humorous references to Hercules, to the Sirens, a visit to caves where they sing chant. And, speaking of music, Rob does various parity variations on Grease is the word, some falsetto singing, some Rod Stewart songs, the Bee Gees and Stayin’ Alive. And they do their best in mimicking the score of Chariots of Fire.

The banter between the two is up-to-date, Rob Brydon’s television career, Steve Coogan being praised for his impersonation of Stan Laurel in Stan and Ollie, and an even longer list of media celebrities that they impersonate, reprisals of many from the previous trips, but a list which includes Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Marlon Brando (and both imitating scenes from The Godfather), Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man, along with Dustin Hoffman in that film as well as The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy (and some Jon Voight) as well, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Werner Herzog, Hugh Grant, and Steve Coogan even doing a Godzilla! For those who know British actor, Ray Winstone and his tough gangster roles, surprised to remember that he did play Henry VIII on television, they do a long funny sequence of his Henry VIII using gangster accent and language.

However, there are some touches of pathos in this film, more than others, Steve and his son, phone calls, arrangements on phone with the agents, news of his father’s illness, some graphic nightmares. Rob, on the other hand, has phone calls with his daughter, Chloe, and his wife.

There is a sombre tone towards the end as Steve gets news of his father’s death, makes every effort to get back to England, is reunited with his son, the funeral. On the other hand, Rob, like Odysseus, reaches the end of his travels and is reunited with his wife, happy holidaying on an island and in the waters.

They discuss whether there will be other films of trips – and the decision, the meantime at least, is not.

1. The fourth in the film series? The episodes made for television? Editing into a feature? Memories of the previous trips, the commission by the newspaper, the itineraries, the scenery, the historical background, the meals and the gourmet touch, the conversations, the fictitious variations on the stars, their competitiveness and slinging off, the range of impersonations? This film with more serious background story, especially at the end?

2. Audiences enjoying the travels in Greece, Odysseus and his returning home, the beginning in Turkey and Troy, the visit to Lesbos, the other islands, to Mount Olympus, to Epidaurus and the amphitheatre and miming with masks, Piraeus and the discussion about the battles of Salamis and Marathon, the visit to the caves, the site of the Olympic Games, Ithaca and the final islands? Audience response to the range of scenery?

3. The importance of meals, the details, the menus, the many cooking sequences, the descriptions of the menu, the cooks, those waiting at table, the German waitress and her charm? The hotels? The restaurants and their scenic outlooks?

4. The guidebook texts, the photos, the travels by car? The side visit to the refugee camp, the acknowledgement of the range of Syrian refugees, the friendship with Kareem, his accompanying them to the camp, the wires, the impact?

5. The quoting from various authors, from Homer and Virgil, the visit to Aristotle and his birthplace, the background of Alexander the Great and criticisms of him? The stories of Heracles, the women sunbaking and the story of the Sirens?

6. Steve and his nightmares, the illness of his father, phone calls to his son, his ex-wife, spending the night with his agent? The contrast with Rob, the phone calls to Chloe, conversations with his wife, the plan for her to meet him at the end of the trip?

7. The jokiness, the competitiveness, each with their career, Rob popular entertainment, Steve and Alan Partridge, his comedies, serious – and his role as Stan Laurel in Stan and Ollie, their replaying the scene? The comments from the critics?

8. The increased range of impersonations in the film, the reprise of those from the past, Michael Caine, Mick Jagger, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Marlon Brando (and dialogue from The Godfather), Roger Moore, Laurence Olivier, Dustin Hoffman (and his range of films from The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, in the dialogue with Olivier from Marathon Man), Jon Voight, Keith Richards, Werner Herzog, Hugh Grant? And the long parody of Ray Winstone and gangster dialogue from his starring role as Henry VIII, dealing with Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn?

9. The range of songs, “grease is the word� and variations, Rod Stewart, the Bee Gees, Stayin’ Alive, the falsetto singing, the plain chant in the cave, variations on the theme from Chariots of Fire?

10. The pathos of the end of the film, Steve’s phone calls with his son, the appearance of his father, with Rob in the ruins, the phone call of his father’s death, the efforts to get back to England, the taxi, the flight, his past home, his son, his former wife? The funeral? Sadness?

11. Counterbalancing Rob’s wife arriving, the holiday together, the swimming, their love? Like Odyssey is reunited with Penelope?

12. And the decision that this be the final Trip series?