There’s something irresistibly endearing about two old friends making fun of each other while impersonating the greatest actors the British Isles have to offer. Over the last ten years, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have taken trips to the English countryside, Italy, Spain, and now Greece, eating the finest of cuisine and ribbing each other with good-natured jabs entangled in stream-of-consciousness celebrity impressions and reflections on life, art, history, philosophy, and so much more. It’s been a good run. The Trip to Greece may not offer much in the way of innovation on a theme, but if you enjoy the premise and the players, why mess with a good thing?
Coogan and Brydon are once again tasked with traveling across a region of Europe on a restaurant tour (this time Greece, in case you missed that). As usual, they bicker, they cajole, they compete, and they have a generally good time doing so. Their conversations over dinner, on car rides, and while sightseeing are genuinely hilarious, made more so by their sheer nonchalance. Scripted casual conversation meant for laughs can easily veer into the territory of the disingenuous, but Coogan and Brydon never approach such mood-killing banality. Watching them, one gets the sense of true comedic timing and expert improvisation over carefully rehearsed lines. In short, they are very good at what they do.
The Trip to Greece (along with the other installments) falters some with its awkward intrusion of outside melodrama that doesn’t add much to the plot or character development. I understand the need to further humanize Coogan and Brydon beyond their witticisms by including elements of backstory and family, but these external dramas often seem forced and serve as a distraction. To be honest, I could watch these two read a phonebook to each other as long as they did it while exchanging Ray Winstone and Werner Herzog impressions. The added storylines aren’t why anyone tunes in – the conversations are.
Still, the comedic strengths of The Trip to Greece outweigh any potential bloat. Its humor may be niche, to a certain degree, but the warmth and candor of its leads are more than enough for an evening of hearty entertainment. Watching two British comedians debate over dinner may not sound like much fun to some, but this simple, genuine approach is as welcome as it is funny – even if it is for the fourth time.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.