Earlier this week we were invited to a press screening of The Trip to Spain, staring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon and directed by Michael Winterbottom. If you aren’t familiar with the previous The Trip films, the two actors basically play themselves, being themselves, while driving and eating and bantering.
Both actors are in their early 50s, and it seems that mortality is a major theme of this film, with a focus on the two actors trying to convince each other that they’re in the prime of the lives. While father to two young children Rob is in Spain on assignment to cover restaurants for a newspaper review, Steve is on some sort of Don Quixote-themed mission to write a book, inspired by As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. Steve is pretty self involved and has his ego smashed by several events regarding his career and personal life throughout the film whereas Rob seems eager to get back home to his wife and children, satisfied with his life and at peace without the Oscar that Steve continues to chase after. If you’re into middle-aged British men impersonating British male actors and rockers and challenging each other’s success, or if you enjoyed the two previous films in the series, The Trip and The Trip to Italy, you’ll like The Trip to Spain.
If you’re looking for an action-packed storyline that is constantly evolving, you won’t find it here — but you will find beautiful Spanish landscapes, shots of food that’ll make your mouth water and an urge to visit El Meson, Costa Brava Bistro, Ibiza and BCN Taste & Tradition soon.
A peculiar scene ends the film abruptly, where Steve encounters what the audience is intended to believe are a truckload of Moors when his Land Rover is stranded and out of gas after he’s ditched Spain for some sort of rendezvous in North Africa. It’s a bit off the chain from the first 4/5 of the film. The last chunk of the story takes a dark and depressing turn. (Warning: Spoilers in this next link.) And then it just drops this bizarre Moor scene in your lap without any explanation and a black screen as if to say “The Trip to Morocco” is coming out next.
One element that would have been helpful to viewers who haven’t been to Spain (or perhaps have been once) is to have noted what regions Rob and Steve were in, when introducing a new day. For example, when the Tuesday scene opens, it is preluded by a black screen and white text that says TUESDAY. A map or a note of what region or town wherein the duo are visiting would be helpful, as the dialog bounces along quickly and the pair are constantly driving off to the next location.
Additionally, for any foodie who will surely be salivating throughout the entire film, a note of what restaurant the scene is filmed at would be helpful. In some scenes you can see the name of the restaurant on the signage or in the kitchen, but in most scenes you cannot. And with dishes and Spanish countryside so aesthetically pleasing and enchanting, nearly all viewers will want to know where the two are and note it for the trip to Spain they are immediately planning for themselves.