The Trip to Spain

The Trip to Spain

This is the purest Trip movie so far.

For those who don't know what this is, this is the third in what I assume will be a continuing series of films centered around British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon going on holiday together. They do bits, impressions, and argue, but mainly they do all three at the same time. This time they go to Spain.

My issue with the previous two films is when they try to shove in dramatic plot and it causes the films to feel unbalanced. I like the Linklater-esque premise of just two middle-aged guys going on vacation together and having funny conversations and debates about life. There's no need to see how sad Steve Coogan is about not getting the job that he wants or having a flakey girlfriend, just focus on the relationship between these two friends. While this one does have a handful of dramatic moments that still come out of nowhere, it's far less distracting.

While I do love watching Brydon and Coogan argue and get angry at each other, this is them just having a good time together and it's every bit as fun. Their impressions are better than ever, and there's even some new ones (I had never heard a John Hurt impression before this, but Coogan's is definitive), and the bits that they do with their impressions are creative and genuinely funny.

The cinematography is gorgeous, and of course the whole film operates as a living brochure for visiting Spain. This is a country that I honestly know hardly anything about, so getting to see footage of the cities, nature, and people was both an educational and lovely experience.

This is another one I don't have much more to say about. Watch it if you're looking for something light, funny, and/or British.