The Trip To Italy

Now we have a second film, 2014, titled  THE TRIP TO ITALY.  The scenery is even more beautiful, the quips come faster and sharper and the imitations carried on.   But between him and Coogan, we were laughing at their quick, sometimes obscene, dialogue. At times, the feature needed subtitles, which would have helped.  And, at times, it seemed like a travelogue OR an excuse to make fun of everything and anything that stood in the way of their eating.

A lot of material is improvised and no writers are credited for the screenplay. Coogan and Brydon quote Bryon, Shelly and Shakespeare. A lot of imitation and parody of The Godfather, The Dark Knight Rises, Beat The Devil, Roman Holiday and Journey To Italy.

As the trip continues backstories develop as Brydon has a fling  with attractive tour guide(Rosie Fellner) while his wife back at home seems disillusioned by his jokes and their life; Coogan attempts to reconnect with his teenaged son.

Overall “A Trip To Italy’ is witty, talky, even if you might be worn down with the dialogue, you won’t be bored by these two very creative actors.

 

THE RESTAURANTS

 Piemonte: TRATTORIA DELLA POSTA, MONFORTE D’ALBA

Liguria: RISTORANTE LA CANTINA, SAN FRUTTUOSO

Toscana: TRATTORIA ALBANA, MAZZOLLA

Roma: RISTORANTE OLIVER GLOWIG, ROMA

Campania: RELAIS BLU, MASSA LUBRENSE

 

THE HOTELS

 Liguria: Hotel Cenobio Dei Dogi, Camogli

Liguria: Ristorante & Albergo Da Giovanni, San Fruttuoso

Toscana: Relais La Suvera, Pievescola

Roma: Hotel Locarno

Campania: Villa Cimbrone, Ravello

 

 Reviewed by: Ken Del Conte