The Trip

Overview

The great thing about casting impersonators in a film is that you get twenty actors for the price of two. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, The Trip features comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story) starring alongside themselves as: Al Pacino, Michael Caine, Ian McKellan, Woody Allen, Richard Burton, all the James Bonds and a score of other celebrities whilst embarking upon a restaurant tour of northern England's finest eateries.

The premise is charmingly simple: when Coogan's girlfriend suddenly backs out on their planned romantic getaway, he's forced to enlist the help of his old friend Brydon to avoid dining at the six restaurants alone. Since neither of them are particularly 'foodies', however (at one point Coogan describes his tomato soup as “tomato-y”), the trip quickly develops into a rollicking showdown of competing impersonations and improvised philosophising on love, fame and why old people are always cranky.

Shot in and around England’s picturesque Lake District, The Trip offers up some of the most genuine laugh out loud moments of any film produced in the past five years, as well as some surprisingly tender scenes given its mockumentary style. Coogan and Brydon are perfectly matched as the leads, with their constant bickering and passive one-upmanship providing an almost unceasing series of sparking one-liners that you’ll want to write down and use on your own friends later.