Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon do a diverting routine of witty but glum straight-man (Coogan) and philosophical comic (Brydon), bouncing off each other on assorted themes, from Batman’s vocal register to the merits of Alanis Morissette. Throughout they compete to see who can do the best Michael Caine impersonation. All this while on a tour of Italy, enjoying the best cuisine on offer and staying in delightful boutique hotels.It’s a winning formula, especially as Brydon can also do a reasonable Hugh Grant and his Tom Jones is spectacular, while both have a go at the better known James Bond actors. There’s some guff about Shelley and Byron, who were similarly once on a trip to Italy and a visit to Pompei which was a grim reminder of one’s mortality, until Brydon has a conversation with an exhibit using his man in a box routine. There is a bit of a subtext, mainly family matters: a fifteen-year-old son Coogan doesn’t see enough of and a tired wife and young daughter in the case of Brydon.
But mostly it’s just two blokes enjoying a gastronomic road trip and getting up to mischief. The eighteen and twenty-year-old lads I watched this with were well entertained, and while the scenery was nice and the food looked amazing, it’s mostly the impersonations you really hang out for. I enjoyed this movie more than the first these two did together, The Trip, but that might be the wonders of Italy adding an appealing backdrop.
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