The Trip to Greece

Another entry into The Trip series, where Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon travel somewhere nice, eat good food and improvise off of each other.

As ever this is a bittersweet comedy, with Brydon and Coogan trying to ignore middle age while enjoying each other’s company. Winterbottom captures some of the romance of the road, and the melancholy felt when a moment shared draws to a close.

These are made as a TV series then cut into a film, and while I enjoy the show myself, I always recommend the feature-length version to others. It’s a self-indulgent concept that isn’t for everyone, but in a more tightly edited format it works quite well.

This is supposedly the last they will make of these, and it’s probably wise to end here. However, in all the repetitive jokes and endless improvisation there is something charming and quite sad at the heart of The Trip that I will miss.

If you are interested, I would go back and watch the first one (simply titled The Trip), and move on from there if you like it - the tone, style and pacing barely waver throughout all the sequels.