The Trip to Italy (2014)

Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy. Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri.

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writer:

Michael Winterbottom

Stars:

Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Rosie Fellner

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Steve Coogan	...	Steve Coogan
Rob Brydon	...	Rob
Rosie Fellner	...	Lucy
Claire Keelan	...	Emma
Marta Barrio	...	Yolanda
Tim Leach	...	Joe (Steve's Son) (as Timothy Leach)
Ronni Ancona	...	Donna
Rebecca Johnson	...	Sally (Rob's Wife)
Alba Foncuberta Bufill	...	La Suvera Receptionist
Flora Villani	...	Villa Cimbrone Receptionist
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alessandro Cuomo	...	Mario

Storyline

Years after their successful restaurant review tour of Northern Britain, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are commissioned for a new tour in Italy. Once again, the two comedy buddies/rivals take the landscape as well as the cuisine of that country in a trip filled with witty repartee and personal insecurities. Along the way, their own professional and personal lives comes in as these slightly older men's friendship comes through.

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Plot Keywords:

road movie | englishman in italy | italy | tuscany | restaurant | 

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Taglines:

Two old friends, six incredible meals, one extraordinary country.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

M

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve's on-screen son, Joe, wears a The Big Bang Theory (2007) t-shirt that diagrams "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock".

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Goofs

Toward the end of the movie (33 minute to the end), they are showing and commenting about a fruit they call "kumquat" which is in fact a "Physalis" also called "Cape Gooseberry", a fruit originally from Chile and Peru. A Kumquat is like a miniature orange, which can be eaten whole, or used in making marmalade. It has a very sharp flavour. A physalis has a paper-like husk like a tomatillo and is very sweet when ripe.

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Quotes

Steve: [In reference to Alanis Morissette] You know I can see the appeal in a woman like this. Volatile women are always sexy when you first meet them but two years down the line you're sorta saying things like, 'can you just put the lids back on eh... on these jars please.'

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Connections

Spoofs The Godfather: Part II (1974)

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Soundtracks

Vier Letze 'Im Abendrot'
Composed by Richard Strauss & Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (as Joseph von Eichendorff)
by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Ltd, An Imagem Company
Performed by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Philarmonica Orchestra
Licensed courtesy of Warner Music Ltd

User Reviews

Wit, Wine, and Women: This travel film has it all.

"Two great talkers will not travel far together." George Borrow

Well, Mr. Borrow, I can prove you wrong if you see The Trip to Italy.

How bad can a film be that centers on two great talkers traveling by convertible Mini-Cooper and eating at high-rise, seaside restaurants on the coast of Italy? Not bad at all as evidenced by The Trip to Italy, the second in road trips starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon; the first was to the Lake District of England.

Besides the seductive ambiance, these two close friends in real life have a grand time spitting out their wits in impressions (e.g., Bale, Brando, Caine, De Niro, Grant, Hardy, Hoffman, Pacino) and literary references (e.g., Byron and Shelley). Although such panoply could smack of the pedantic, the blokes are genuinely in love with pop cult and literature and naturals at the screwball repartee (Sideways is not even close to their wit).

Simple jokes come off like the countryside, warm and inviting: "Volatile women are always sexy when you first meet them but two years down the line you're sorta saying things like, 'can you just put the lids back on eh... on these jars please'." (Steve)

If all Steve and Rob do is exchange witticisms, impressions, and an occasional rumination on more serious matters such as death, with the ease and aplomb you would expect of famous comedians, then what does the film offer the serious moviegoer? Lush scenery, delicious food, and two very witty guys at the top of their game. Now I'm going back to their Trip to catch more witticisms, and I'll look forward to their possible journey through France or Spain.

All that for $10 and no reclining airplane seats.

Details

Official Sites:

IFC Films [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 May 2014 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

The Trip to Italy

Filming Locations:

Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$71,712, 17 August 2014

Gross USA:

$2,880,537

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,132,875

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Revolution Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 175 min (mini-series)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1