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
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:

Anyone for seconds?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

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: Rob can't do poems in his own voice because he lacks conviction.

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Connections

Spoofs Dirty Harry (1971)

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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

If You Liked the First, You'll Like This One as Well

The Trip to Italy is a sequel to the little known, little seen 2010 film The Trip, which in itself is a highlight reel of a little known, little seen BBC miniseries of the same name. Each reiteration of this franchise, I guess you could call it, feels like the rotating lenses of a microscope, filling in more detail while getting ever smaller in scope and appeal. Who exactly is this movie for? I'm not quite sure but whoever is on its wavelength will probably have a ball.

The Trip to Italy revisits Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as they are once again conscripted by the London Observer to eat at and review multiple restaurants. This time instead of driving through the foggy moors of Northern England, the duo drive their rented Mini Cooper through the sunny coasts of Italy. While doing so they once again trade witty repartee, relight professional rivalries and whip out their best Michael Caine impressions.

Its basically the same setup as the first only the location and power dynamic between our two leads is a bit more interesting. Coogan's star seems to have taken a dip since the cancellation of his American TV series. Meanwhile the less misanthropic Brydon is being courted by director Michael Mann for a billed part in a crime drama. Insecurities and the specter of aging into obsolescence abounds in this sequel, and the Italian countryside and tales of the Romantics serve beautifully as a stark juxtaposition.

Director Michael Winterbottom takes every opportunity to indulge in the sun and scenic poetry of Italy. As the characters retrace the steps of the romantics, Winterbottom takes delight in lifting visual cues from mainstay international cinema such as the bumpy road trips of Il Sorpasso (1962), the luxurious schooners of Purple Noon (1960) and the general feeling of ennui from La Dolce Vita (1960). As the film wears on, the actors become entrenched in a background literally alive with history, unable to make their pithy comments take you out of the beauty (though it's not for lack of trying.

Yet the same things that bogged down The Trip from being the best version of itself are still purposely present in Trip to Italy. There are the same insufferably self-centered characters, the same conversations and improvisational impressions, the same inattention to the freaking food! Seriously, I realize that oafish behavior set against the truly beautiful is partially the point but how do you NOT make Italian food the center of attention? Thankfully the two surly actors have much more to interact with. Actresses Marta Barrio and Rosie Fellner actually show up to dinner instead of being relegated to bits of cellphone asides. Steve's son (as played by Timothy Leach) shows up as well allowing us to see how two middle-aged men in a perpetual existential crises handle being around a child for a few minutes.

Overall Trip to Italy is in my mind a smidgen better than its predecessor and only because it trades temperate gloom for Mediterranean sunniness. But if you're the type who finds the fields, fog and verdant bluffs of England more appealing then the opposite might be true for you. Regardless, your ability to take this trilogy (so far) is wholly dependent on your ability to stomach two actors winging-it while sitting across from one another. I personally found my patience eroding by the minute.

Details

Official Sites:

IFC Films [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2014 (UK)

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