I Still Love You, Netflix!* - The Trip

*Though I still occasionally hate you, too.

The Trip has a simple premise: two long-time friends from London take a road trip to the north of England to dine in some of the region's finest restaurants. Director Michael Winterbottom simplifies the premise even more by having the two leads, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, essentially play themselves and improvise most of the film's dialogue. In that way, the film even feels like a documentary, chronicling the relationship between two middle-aged British actors of some acclaim. 

This may not seem substantive enough a premise to carry a feature-length film, but Coogan and Brydon are both brilliant improvisers, and their humorous rapport and constant games of one-up-manship prove to be endlessly entertaining. Winterbottom previously directed the duo in 2005's Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story and was apparently inspired by their knack for dueling impressions on the set of that film to reteam them once again.

The film does attempt to add some depth to each of these men. We see Brydon's wife and infant daughter at the beginning and end of the film, and he frequently checks in with his wife by phone during the trip. It is clear that he has struck a perfect balance between professional performer and traditional "family man". 

In contrast, the single Coogan attempts to stoke the flames of a lukewarm relationship with his American girlfriend Mischa despite a continuously poor cell phone connection, while bedding women he meets at the various lodgings throughout the course of the trip. Coogan also calls his teenage son from a previous relationship, and it is clear that his nomadic life as an actor has made it difficult to be a constant presence in his son's life. It is evident that Coogan tends to neglect his personal life in the pursuit of the next big role, and his frustration is represented by numerous shots of him hiking through the grassy hills and staring out ponderously across the vast rocky pastures of northern England.

Aside from Coogan and Brydon, the gorgeous scenery of "The North" is the other prominent feature of the film. The Trip occurs during winter, and I had no idea that this region of England has snow-capped mountain ranges in addition to its rolling hills, babbling brooks and rocky cliffs. The cinematography by Ben Smithard captures the pastoral countryside in great, generous stretches. Paired with the sparring banter between the leads, the film at times conjures up visions of another British road trip film, the cult classic Withnail and I.

The Trip is a fun romp, especially if you find humor in impressions of legendary British (and American) actors by semi-famous British actors who desperately yearn to someday be regarded as such in their own right.