Movie tip

The Trip to Spain

This is the first of the Steve Coogan-Rob Brydon “Trip” movies I’ve seen, and, boy, what I’ve been missing! How entertaining to listen to two Brit wits banter as they travel through a scenic country (I dare say that Spain has never looked so stunning) and nosh on outrageously delicious-looking food. Coogan and Brydon are a hoot in this largely improvised film, as their thinly fictionalized characters try to one-up each other with their comic inventiveness. There’s a little emotional heft, too, thanks to the men's grappling with age and career disappointments. The film does bog down for a bit about 2/3 of the way through, and the ending is a big “What?!” Still, this is one of the most purely enjoyable movie-going experiences of the years.