The Trip (Rhoades)

“The Trip” Offers Funny Discourse
Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

I’m confused. Brit funnymen Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon star as fictionalized versions of themselves in a new comedy called “The Trip.” But I keep remembering that famous pronouncement by sci-fi writer Kurt Vonnegut that “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

So maybe this is the real Coogan and Brydon?

“The Trip” – now playing at the Tropic Cinema – is actually a sequel, a follow-up on “A Cock and Bull Story” which starred the same two actors playing themselves. Well, playing that pretend version of themselves.

I kinda like them here. But would I like the real versions of Coogan and Brydon if I met them in person?

Trying to impress his girlfriend, Steve Coogan accepts an assignment to write a restaurant column for a newspaper. However, his girlfriend decides to take a break in their relationship, so Steve invites his odd-duck colleague Rob Brydon to come along on this restaurant tour.

As Coogan and Brydon ramble on, you’ll be reminded of “My Dinner With Andre.” But that was a real documentary, wasn’t it? Or was it a pretend conversation?

At any rate, Coogan and Brydon’s odd-couple bickering will leave you laughing.

Note: Margo Stilley, the woman who plays Steve Coogan’s girlfriend in “The Trip,” is not a fictionalized version of herself. Maybe he has to hire actresses to pretend to be his girlfriend.

Hm, not a bad ploy.

srhoades@aol.com
[from Solares Hill]