The Trip to Greece (2020)

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom | 103 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan, Rebecca Johnson, Marta Barrio, Tim Leach, Cordelia Bugeja, Justin Edwards, Tessa Walker, Richard Clews, Harry Tayler, Kareem Alkabbani, Soraya Mahalia Häfner

British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s culinary TV battle comes to a temporary end with ‘Trip to Greece’, the fourth in the restaurant travel series. Two opposites with irritation factor is the general line, and comedians know how to deal with that. You may know Coogan from various film productions known in the Netherlands, such as ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ and ‘Philomena’; Brydon is more your average English, both in personality and fame.

Shouldn’t be a problem if you’re familiar with this series. It started a dozen or so ago in Yorkshire. The first part (‘The Trip’) had a much larger introductory component: the viewer was introduced to a cynical suitor going through a midlife crisis (Coogan) and a droll family man who constantly abuses impersonations to mask his embarrassment (Brydon). That introduction is omitted in this latest culinary journey.

It assumes a certain familiarity with the series for international viewers, although any Anglophile will immediately recognize the two as extremes of English identity. The repetitive nature of the concept occasionally makes this road trip through ancient Greece tedious, when Brydon pulls another Sean Connery imitation from the improv hat, or when Coogan plays the bully of the two on autopilot.

The undersigned would prefer a more regular BBC travel program, although you learn something about lesbian poets in the ancient world and the trip ends with a moody and appropriate family drama. The moral is clear, but in that respect it is also a repetition of moves. Coogan and Brydon dutifully play their respective Trip characters and scatter them over the viewer like mature cheese.