That was an excellent one.

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Masterpiece!

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The scant artifice of director Michael Winterbottom's The Trip is beguiling in an Edward Albee, two people sitting on a park bench kind of way. In this case the bench is replaced by some of Northern England's most elegant restaurants and the two people sitting opposite each other more or less play slightly wittier versions of themselves. But unlike an Albee play, The Trip doesn't delight in frankness or extremes. The stakes here are low, the conflicts intimate and sub-textual and the trials that befall our two heroes aren't likely to create much smoke.This can be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on a couple of factors. Those who saw My Dinner with Andre (1981) back in the day and said, "give me more of that please," will no doubt already sold on the idea of two frienemies breaking bread together. Shot in a naturalistic style complete with muted color tones, The Trip doesn't exactly ingratiate itself as a fun movie for general audiences. Furthermore the film is a highlight reel of a BBC miniseries of the same name therefore guaranteeing that unless you're the kind of person who wonders into a movie blind, you'll probably walk in being a fan of the series and therefore you'll automatically enjoy it.But to the rest of us, The Trip runs the risk of being insufferable. At the thematic center of the film is Steve Coogan's professional rivalry with Rob Brydon. A rivalry which is revisited repeatedly with long-winded conversations punctuated by petty one-upsmanship. The banter is funny, witty and refreshingly organic with equally on-point Michael Caine impressions serving the largest supply of belly laughs. Yet because much of the dialogue is improvised it's also primordial, relying heavily on the the occasional quip instead of the usual setups and payoffs.This becomes a problem as the characters progress through each dinner. Coogan and Brydon are wisely concentrated on the power dynamic between them but they never seem all that worried about story progression. One dinner bleeds into the other, into the other with talk of media and name-dropping becoming conversational filler. It gets repetitive and even a little grating as the camera teases us with ten second reprieves in the kitchen to see what's simmering the the pan. Then we're brought right back to Coogan and Brydon who never seem all that jazzed about the food they're eating.Those in the know will hopefully be entertained by the pleasant dinner conversation and the occasional drive through back country while listening to ABBA. Yet lacking buildup, tension or anything commonly associated with, you know, "movies", The Trip is liable to exclude regular audiences before they even hit coat check.

There's a lot of dialog. It's done in a realistic way. There's also beautiful scenery of the English countryside. If you enjoy Brit comedies and shows, you should enjoy this also. It reminds me of the Brit series "Downton Abbey", which they reference in the movie, the place, not the series. It's not a comedy, but some parts are amusing.It is slow moving, so that's why I say to sit back & relax. I can't say that I would have appreciated it as much had I viewed it in a theater, instead of the comfort of my home. You could term the movie as a slice of life, because of the way the dialog was written. It's not fancy in it's presentation.

The Trip is Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's vacation sitcom that is basically the two comedians going to different restaurants in the North of Britain. Now, it could be funny if they didn't have such thin material. So why in the world did they decide to cut it down into a 114 minute movie? The problems is it follows a structure that you can point out very easily. Here is what happens in every lets say 25 minutes:1. They Drive and Talk. 2. They get a room at a hotel. 3. They eat as it inner cuts 4. While they are eating, they make impressions of famous stars. 5. As Dramatic Music plays, they talk on the phone with people.Follow that same structure at least 6 times and you got a very thin movie. Oh and if your lucky:6. Steve Coogan has a Bad Dream.The impressions are spot on and funny at first, but then it just becomes hideously boring and you wish they would do something other than impressions.The food looks gorgeous and it is interesting to hear what Coogan and Brydon have to say about it as they eat pigeon, duck, lamb, scallops, soup and more rich stuff. The problem I have is that its the same thing over and over again. The structure is very basic and does not take any risks whatsoever. What if something bad happened on the road trip? What if their car broke down? What if they had a fight? Sure they argue, but it doesn't lead to anything serious. Come on! I'm dying to see something different, but all I'm getting is the same stuff over and over again!If you watched the Trailers it looks like it was going to be a hilarious movie full of comedy and food. But it lies to us. It actually is quite depressing because of the music at the end of a restaurant scene. There is rarely any music and it should have been that way throughout. I don't like this sad music. Where is the upbeat and happy music? But I guess it fits because the whole movie is Grey. Look at the poster! Does it look like a boring drama film? No! It looks exactly like a comedy but it doesn't do anything to be different!Maybe if I watched the uncut series, I would have liked it better, but I am reviewing a film. Not a comedy series.If you like food, skip this because the scenes in the restaurants are rushed. If you love comedy. Skip it because it takes no risks. If you really want fun. Don't watch it at all. It really is depressing and the ending is not funny. This movie fails at comedy. Now could you believe there is a sequel!?... I'll get to that sometime.54/100 C

This film was utterly uninteresting. Spoiler: 2 guys bullshitting for 2 hours. God, it was just so boring....Really the guys just sit and talk in the car. then they sit and talk in a restaurant. Their banter is mostly annoying. I signed up for an account just to try to counteract the 7.1 rating here on IMDb...i usually trust the ratings and a 7 should usually be a decent film. This was just Garbage. I would put it on par with Adam Sandler's "Overboard" or Whoopi Goldberg's "The Telephone"...both movies designed to waste your time and cash in on an actor's celebrity. I want my 2 hours back. really. Yuk. Boring. Nuff said.