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There's something so uniquely special about The Trip movies. While they're often billed as comedies, each of the four Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon films feels like a voyeuristic journey through the discovery of meaning.
What it means to enjoy life. What it means to feel fulfilled. What it means to be in a relationship. And what it means to be a friend.
Steve and Rob are, of course, friends. And unlike behind-the-scenes drama in films like Don't Worry Darling, the conflict between these two acclaimed British actors plays out authentically on-screen. It's not a phony reality show conflict like you'd find on The Real Housewives. Despite scripted moments, it feels like what the two men are trying to work out comes from a very real place.
This formula has made the two actors a lot of money. Instead of cashing in on big blockbusters, the two have reaped the benefits of this franchise of indie films, not unlike Daniel Radcliffe's recent career choices.
But what The Trip, The Trip To Italy, The Trip To Spain, and The Trip To Greece say about life and the relationship between the two men isn't the only reason people love the franchise. It's also the impressions, food, and amazing locations. But ultimately it's the blur between reality and fiction. During a 2020 interview with Vulture, Rob and Steve revealed the truth about just how real the movies are...
Do Celebrities Hate The Impressions In The Trip?
Michael Winterbottom, the man behind the entire Trip franchise, first honed in on one of the most important aspects of the series when directing the 2010 TV show from which the movie was adapted...
The impressions.
Between obscure British politicians, old-school stars, Batman movie characters, and modern A-listers, no one was safe from satire in The Trip movies.
Both Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan are masters of impressions. And their back and forth trying to outdo one another is easily the funniest part of the films.
Of course, given their stature and the prominence of the films, it made sense why the Vulture interviewer asked if they've been confronted by those they've imitated.
"We did a thing with Michael Caine at the Albert Hall, and he was very nice. You can see it," Rob Brydon told Vulture.
"Anthony Hopkins I met in Los Angeles and he said, [does an Anthony Hopkins voice] 'I loved The Trip. Loved The Trip.' This was after we’d done the first one and the Italian one hadn’t come out," Rob continued. "And I said, 'Well, in this new one, the Italian one, we’re on a yacht and we do you in The Bounty.' And he started doing it!"
Other than that, none of the other celebrities they've imitated have confronted either one of them about it.
Are The Restaurants In The Trip Ever Insulted?
Another major component of The Trip movies is the food. While most of the plates featured look and taste delicious. Both Rob and Steve have made fun of a few things they've been served at these very real establishments. So, has anyone ever gotten mad at them?
"I was at L’Enclume only two months ago," Steve Coogan said in 2020 of one of the restaurants featured in the first movies.
"I went there for dinner, and the chef, Simon Rogan, who’s very much a respected Michelin star chef, came up and went, 'Hey, how are you?' And it was all very friendly, but he still mentioned Ray Winstone’s snot. I don’t know if that’s in the film version [or only in the BBC series version], but there’s this one particular dish that had a green liquid in it that looked a bit like — and I don’t know how we arrived at this, I can’t remember — but I do remember that I compared it to Ray Winstone as a gangster forcing someone to eat his mucus."
Despite the joke being made ten years earlier, the chef still brought it up.
"We just praise the food because it’s always very nice, although I’m often not paying that much attention to it," Rob added.
"People often say to me, 'Which is the best food' I’m just thinking, What am I going to say next? I’m trying to be inventive and creative. What I do remember are the meals we would eat in the evenings when we weren’t filming."
How Real Are The Trip Movies?
The Trip movies are exceptionally good at blurring reality and fiction. So, audiences are often unsure if Steve and Rob are actually playing versions of themselves that are closer to real life than they may appear.
There's been such confusion that Rob's wife even experienced people comforting her about her husband cheating. Of course, it was just a storyline in the second film.
It turns out that despite some scripted storylines, most of the interactions between the two comedians is quite authentic.
"I remember having a chat with Rob and saying, 'Let’s risk offending each other and not take it personally, to try and find funny things,'" Steve said about the preparation for the first film.
"I don’t know that we actually shook hands. And that pretty much worked, I think, 95 percent of the time. I got tetchy sometimes, but by and large, that held, that sort of gentleman’s ribbing."
Particularly while filming the first film, both Rob and Steve were surprised by how melancholy their unscripted conversations ended up being. While they were trying to make each other laugh, director Michale Winterbottom was moving the camera in ways that told a larger story.
This larger story was pieced together in such a way that it revealed deeper truths that the actors didn't see when they filmed it. So, while there are numerous scripted storylines in the films, there is more real than there is fake.
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