The foodie improv tour continues. When last we left Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon … oh it doesn’t matter. If you’re watching one of these films to get more insight into the personal life of either man, that’s almost as pathetic as Coogan’s primadonna-ism. By film #3, we’ve now firmly established Steve Coogan as the alpha-mena in this set, something he’s only too happy to tell you. In fact, the only thing in The Trip to Spain more common that Coogan name-dropping his Philomena Oscar nod is Brydon anticipating it.
Maybe you haven’t seen the Steve Coogan/Rob Brydon EuroTrip format. It’s pretty simple: two B-list veteran comedians take turns acting on their veiled professional hostility by doing celebrity impressions over historic landscapes and five-star meals. It used to be that the men were equals, but now Coogan has clearly emerged as the greater of the two, which, in turn, only makes the man more insecure. If you’re calling your manager/agent every day, it’s possible your ego is out of control. While Coogan and Brydon play themselves unscripted, these films are not strict documentaries as actors and controversies are introduced so we can having some “plot” and “acting.” The latter is a huge mistake.
And Steve Coogan is mildly more talented than Rob Brydon. The two will often take on impressions of the same celebrity. Steve Coogan proved better at John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellan, and Robert De Niro while Rob Brydon is better at Sean Connery, Hugh Grant, and Marlon Brando. Both men do an awesome Michael Caine, and both do a passable Roger Moore. When Coogan is on, he’s better than Brydon. The problem with both men is the inability to turn off. Sometimes, you’re a professional and sometimes your Queen Elizabeth is no better than mine. At that point, you’ve reached the Mister Rogers impression nadir I referred to in The Trip to Italy. Don’t go there. Neither man does a reasonable Mick Jagger, David Bowie, or Al Pacino; somebody needs to stop the camera when that happens.
When Coogan is in a playful mood, The Trip to Spain works. His John Hurt is drop dead hilarious. Have you ever heard a John Hurt impression before? My favorite segment, however, is when
know-it-all Coogan showed up to impress female guests about the Moor invasion of Iberia. During the entire five minutes of Steve Coogan playing tour guide/historian, Rob Brydon does a Roger Moore impression taking credit for all the Moor innovation in Western Europe. That’s when this picture shines.
In between dueling Bowies and extemporaneous inquisitions, The Trip to Spain, much like Paris Can Wait, is little more than a video travelogue. Does Western Europe really need advertising? And The Trip to Spain deliberately stopped short so that Michael Winterbottom could squeeze an entire movie between the Coogan/Brydon separation and the end credits. I swear I’m not making this up. The two parted and it was like a new production crew crawled out of an Andalusian castle dungeon looked around and collectively said, “Is Brydon gone? Can we shoot a film now? Quick! Move!” I cannot stress enough how much this does not work as a filmmaking gambit. You kind of have to decide before the greenlighting whether your film is fact or fiction. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are real people. This is not an either/or situation.
Roving comics of talents arcane
Would ape both with pleasure and pain
With one they excelled
Their Alfie’s unquelled
The Caine in Spain is mocked mainly on the plane
Unrated, 108 Minutes
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Writer: The Moors
Genre: Improv tour
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: English icons who enjoy being teased
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Rich Little
