Delayed Reaction: The Trip to Italy

The Pitch: People actually liked the first one. Might as well do it again.

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan go on another food tour, this time in Italy.

I'm going to make my way through this trilogy (so far) quickly, because they are far too enjoyable and easy to watch. This movie is nice to watch the same way that listening to certain of my favorite podcasts are. It doesn't need to be about anything in particular. I just want to listen to these two banter.

The Trip to Italy is a decidedly more easygoing movie than the first. It's brighter. The budget looks to be bigger. The equipment seems to be upgraded from the first. Rob and Steve even appear to like each other more. In the first movie, their pairing was a last-ditch effort. Rob was the only thing close to a friend who was willing and available to go with Steve. While I think this was shot right before Coogan's Philomena success, both men seem to be in better places than where they where in the first movie. They still have some personal drama - Steve is struggling to connect with his son; Rob cheats on his wife - but the tone is overall lighter. They actually seem to enjoy each other's company. I buy the friendship a lot more. There isn't much to say about the content of these movies. They are pretty simple. This one has a lot of talk about Lord Byron. I am curious about what gets left out of the BBC series version of this. Is there more focus on the food in those?

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend