The Dictator
Larry Charles, 2012
Score: C+
The Trip
The Trip is the shortened film version of a BBC television series about real-life English comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon taking a (most likely fictional) gastronomic tour of the North of England together. Over fancy lunches and dinners in the beautiful, somewhat gloomy countryside – and over interminable drives in Coogan’s SUV – the two friends discuss fame and their careers (Coogan is terminally dissatisfied; the less famous Brydon takes things more in stride), do not-half-bad impressions of other celebrities (they particularly compete over their respective Michael Caines), and riff endlessly on goofball comic ideas (why is it that generals in historical epics say “Gentlemen, to bed, for we ride at dawn!” and not, say, “Gentlemen, to bed, for we ride at 9:30, after a spot of breakfast!”?).
Much of this is very funny, and parts are even poignant, as a lark. But it should really be seen as originally intended – in bite-sized, 30-minute chunks. At nearly two hours, the film feels endless. By the 25th time Brydon launched into a series of rapid-fire impressions and Coogan started complaining about his unrecognized genius, I kind of wanted to strangle them both.
-- Eugene Novikov
| Released: | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Genres: | Comedy |
| Starring: | Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon |
| Directed by: | Michael Winterbottom |
| Rated: | UR |
The Trip doesn’t offer anything interesting to me as I’m not a fan of Coogan and Brydon. The film played in a sleezy second rate film house that nobody attends in New Orleans. To make a film of TV segments is a bad idea in this case. Who really cares what these two think and say.