As Good As It Gets

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Absolutely brilliant! Coogan, Brydon, Keelan, & Barrio are so natural together it's like they aren't even acting, absolutely brilliant! It will never catch on in the United States as the average Joe likes stuff like Star Wars, Guardian of the Galaxy and that sort of fare. But I'm not an adolescent and I prefer headier fare, I simply can't stomach the action genre (except perhaps Daniel Craig playing Bond, now that's a bulldog). The cinematography in the trip movies is always first rate and this trip installment is no exception! Hats off to Michael Winterbottom, first rate job Michael, absolutely first rate! I must mention the piano accompaniment as it is always welcome, so wistful and, highlighting melancholia filled moments. This Trip movie ended with an interesting twist with Steve about to be taken captive by the mujahideen. My bet is Steve talks his way out of it perhaps by doing "no one expects the Spanish Inquisition" impression! In addition to the pure viewing pleasure one always learns a bit, these trip movies edify as well as entertain. I simply look forward to the next installment!

I liked the two previous Trip movies, but they had something more than two comedians riffing off each other in exotic locations, they had some personal connection. While Trip to Spain uses the exact same formula, it lacks anything that makes me relate to the characters. It shows them having midlife drama with agents leaving or chasing them, but that's about their job, not their life. And the additional one with the son of Coogan feels artificial, as it doesn't really affect the overall story. What I would have liked was to see the relationship between the two characters evolve, but in fact it stays exactly the same. The depiction of Spain is even more sketchy than in the other two movies, which is saying something and they are over 50. Instead of glamorous actors that seduce women in European tourist traps, they turn into the two old Muppets! I hope there is some evolution in the next film, if there will be any, because even the jokes were duplicated from previous movies.

If you need action and major special effects to enjoy a film, this will be your cup of tea. But I was excited to see another Coogan-Brydon venture come out and couldn't wait to watch it on Netflix. Like the Crosby-Hope road movies of old, "The Trip to Spain" repeats basically the same formula as its predecessors. Here, there are new impersonations added to the repertoire displayed in the past (David Bowie, John Hurt, Roger Moore), and a cliffhanger ending. It's not for everyone, but fans of Coogan and Brydon, especially those of us in the US who don't get to see most of their TV work, will enjoy it. One bonus for me was learning that Kyle Soller of the new Poldark is an American.

"Never go on trips with anyone you do not love." Ernest Hemingway Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have done this drill before from reviewing restaurants in the UK, Italy, and now Spain in The Trip to Spain. As always the two for the road, buddy adventure is more entertaining than the meals, though the meals play even less of a role in this iteration.The two incomparable improvisers, guided for the third time by director Michael Winterbottom, travel by Range Rover to some of Spain's finest restaurants, with mouth-watering tapas casually served while they serve you personal barbs and impersonations so spot on you could close your eyes and swear the original was having dinner.Especially notable are their riffs on James Bond, emphasizing the eccentric voices of Sean Connery and Roger Moore. The sequence involving Moore's Bond and an enemy having dinner together is especially amusing. In any case, both actors are world class imitators culminating in a memorable take on "Tony Hopkins." The road trip has numerous high angle, helicopter and drone shots capturing the rolling Spanish countryside, mountain top restaurants, and Western-like landscapes enjoyable enough but downright fulfilling when accompanied by the wickedly funny banter between the old buddies. They both are not shy about picking on the conceits and foibles of their friend, and both give as well as they can take.For some dramatic heft, Coogan is vulnerable at reaching 50 without a girlfriend or agent, and so distanced from his son as to be painful,. Even writing about his teenage years in Spain can't shake the melancholy. Enter the shot of the two buddies dressed as Quixote and Panza, no better choice to represent Coogan's drifting and Brydon's middle-aged responsibilities.All this is to say that the lives of these two gifted actors and improvisers are not as superficial as the grand food and sights would lead us to believe. And after all, we need to be prepared for the hilarious and provocative last shot.What is it? you ask. Take the trip and find out. It will be one of the best tours of your cinematic life, and you'll run to Netflix to see the other two. I guarantee it."Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." Ralph Waldo Emerson