The Trip to Italy is the second of four films directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden. The first movie was The Trip. The third and fourth films are The Trip to Spain and The Trip to Greece. All four movies were created by editing down six episodes of a BBC four-season series.
In the first movie, The Trip, Steve and Rob were all about Coleridge. In The Trip to Italy, they follow the trail of Lord Byron. Steve is on the wagon until he is not, which doesn’t take long at all. Rob has a dalliance that could lead to trouble with his wife, and the writing is either not very clear at the ending or Rob and a presently pregnant Emma (Claire Keenan as Steve’s assistant) are pining away for each other.
One can only hope that Tom Hardy and Christian Bale have seen the sketch where Rob plays a nearly incomprehensible Bane and Batman while Steve plays the 2nd AD assigned to inform the actors that nobody can understand them. In a rare break from the conceit, It is one of the few times Steve and Rob look like they are enjoying each other’s company.
Rob, of course, does Small Man in a Box. He also does Michael Caine and Al Pacino. Some of the impressions get old just because the two of them refuse to stop until they feel they have perfected their art. This time around there is no making fun of the food, Steve’s dreams are gone, and more relationships are emphasized. The series is getting smarter, tighter, more likely to make you laugh. The Trip to Italy is a must see. You will feel like you get to have lunch every day with the best people you know.
Buy The Trip to Italy