The Trip to Greece movie review: Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan’s final act neatly rounds off the franchise

Story:

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan reunite for a final time in the fourth iteration of The Trip franchise, as the duo return to Greece, the seat of all literature and civilization.

Review:

It has been a decade since Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon first started off their gastronomic adventures around the world with The Trip, followed by The Trip to Italy, and The Trip to Spain, the duo remark in the opening scenes of the movie. A self-aware melancholia pervades the final film, which seems to be a fitting tribute to the legacy of the franchise. Wading through the ruins of the glorious civilizations, as they retrace Odysseus’ path after the Trojan War to his hometown Ithaca, Coogan and Brydon also retrace their steps back to their own lives with a sense of profound sorrow.

We have watched them banter about life and career, food and relationships over amuse-bouche and wine. Even in the midst of paradisial locations, the hefty weight of disappointments and heartbreaks are not glossed over. They have silver hair now – Brydon even quips that Coogan has started to resemble Richard Gere, a compliment he laps up with a pinch of salt. Perhaps, because we know this is the last time we’ll get to see the two circling back to each other to validate their existences.

The overall blissful tone of the film is tempered with real-world issues like Coogan’s father’s deteriorating health, him being rejected for a role in a Damien Chazelle movie and his associations with younger women making him ruminate over his mortality.

Sure, these escapist fantasies allow one to soak up the excesses of this visual treat vicariously, but The Trip films are often indulgent to its protagonists too. It is aware that this is just supposed to be a getaway from the gnawing pain of old age and eventual irrelevance. These workcations are lavish and indulgent, but also necessary in tiding through the most challenging circumstances.

Unfortunately, the Michael Caine impersonations don’t feature this time around. However, Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Mick Jagger impressions will more than make up for the exclusion of the first.

The Michael Winterbottom directorial, which originally released in 2020, was filmed before the pandemic hit. This makes watching the duo skedaddling from the ruins of Hisarlik in Turkey, taking a ferry to visit Syrian refugee camps at Sappho’s Lesbos or punctuating their many visits with sit-ins at fancy bistros, feel like a parallel reality. It’s surreal, disconcerting and heart-breaking at the same time.

Verdict:

The final film of the quadrilogy is arguably the saddest of the lot, in more ways than one. But is also is the most grounding experience watching the two aged men try to find their home, and help each other grow in the process.