''The Trip to Italy'' is a 2014 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', '' Wonderland'' and '' 24 Hour Party People''� ...

. It is the sequel of Winterbottom's TV series '' The Trip'', and similarly stars

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

and

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' a ...

as fictionalized versions of themselves. The film had its world premiere at the

2014 Sundance Film Festival The 2014 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 16, 2014 until January 26, 2014 in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance Resort in Utah. The festival opened with ''Whiplash'' directed by Da ...

on 20 January 2014. Following the premiere, a second TV series, also titled ''The Trip to Italy'', was broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

Premise

Rob has been commissioned by a newspaper to go on a

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by t ...

through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

from

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

, partly following in the footsteps of the great Romantic poets. Steve joins him, and as they journey through the beautiful Italian countryside, they contemplate life, love and their careers.

Cast

as Steve Coogan *

as Rob Brydon *

Claire Keelan Claire Keelan (born 8 May 1975) is an English actress. She played Claire Ashcroft in ''Nathan Barley'' and Electroclash in ''No Heroics''. Background Keelan is a former member of the Royal Court Young People's Theatre.Rosie Fellner Rosie Fellner is an English-Irish actress and producer. She began her career on the cult TV show ''The Fast Show'' and received attention for her portrayal of Joei Harkness in the series ''The Alan Clarke Diaries''. Her other work includes ''T ...

as Lucy *Marta Barrio as Yolanda *Timothy Leach as Joe *

Ronni Ancona Veronica "Ronni" Jane Ancona (born 4 July 1966)''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' is a British actress, comedian, impressionist and writer best known for ''The Big Impression'', which she co-wrote and starred in and ...

as Donna

Reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports that 86% of 104 film critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While perhaps not quite as fresh as Coogan and Brydon's original voyage in ''The Trip'', ''The Trip to Italy'' still proves a thoroughly agreeable sequel." Scott Foundas of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', said in his review that "Coogan, Brydon and Winterbottom journey to the Mediterranean in this warmly enjoyable continuation of their improvised cultural and culinary adventures." William Goss of ''Film.com'' gave the film a generally positive review, saying that it is "plenty enjoyable for fans of the first one and these two", while noting that "by the end, it also has the consistency of reheated comfort food." Amber Wilkinson of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' gave the film a B, saying that "Their improvisation has been honed to the point where the jokes land solidly without losing naturalism and the pair of them are clearly enjoying la dolce vita".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trip to Italy, The 2014 films Films set in Italy Films shot in Italy Films directed by Michael Winterbottom British sequel films British buddy films British road comedy-drama films Films about actors Films about comedians 2010s road movies Films about travel Films edited from television programs 2010s English-language films 2010s British films