BELOW: A scene that really pissed off Ebert Like what you read? Support the site on Patreon Please report any spelling, grammar, or factual errors or corrections on the contact page Director: Michael Winterbottom Producer: Andrew Eaton and Melissa Parmenter Cinematography: Ben Smithard by Jon Cvack For those unfamiliar (I wasn’t) this was a British television series cut down into a mockumentary. Allegedly, the show focused more on the restaurants they went to and dove deeper into the food and chefs. There’s a peculiar similarity to Sideways (2004), which for as much as I look, I can’t find any direct inspiration, but being made six years later, the parallels fly off the screen. Both films contain two artist friends, one in a relatively healthy relationship, the other not (or at all). They meet up and head off on a road trip, hitting up various restaurants, sites, and bars along the way, all while providing an intimate look into friendship, exploring everything from the banal to the personal. In this case, the philandering and sarcastic Hayden Christensen and neurotic Paul Giamatti are replaced by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, each playing a fictionalized version of themselves. Ryan as a happily married radio host known for his impersonations, specifically a bizarre “man in the box” voice and Steve Coogan as a modestly successful actor, who fantasizes about working with Hollywood’s top auteurs, seemingly on the precipice of success, and dating a young attractive girl back in the states who he proceeds to cheat on without concern. The plot is as simple as it gets. Coogan is offered a week-long trip to Northern England’s top restaurants for a magazine and invites his friend Ryan after his young American girlfriend drops out, having gone back to the states to meet up with some magazine editors. We watch as Coogan and Ryan visit the top restaurants, commenting on the food and offering various and hilarious impressions ranging from Woody Allen to a brilliant breakdown of what makes a good Michael Caine impression (involving talking through the nose while projecting a lifetime of whiskey and cigar smoking). Between Coogan walking off into the Northern England countryside, calling his agent and girlfriend, wallowing in his lack of success, forever stuck in the London entertainment industry to then seduce a waitress or hotel staff all while Ryan heads back to his room for an early evening, phone sexing his wife. It’s as simple as that. Coogan and Brogdon’s foil isn’t punched up or exploited. It’s simply two funny people - one dry the other more slapstick - on vacation, allowing us to listen to their thoughts and banter. Ebert quoted Siskel in his review who said, "I wish I'd seen a documentary about the same actors having lunch.” I’d be satisfied with a podcast. In the end, they return home. We learn Coogan has a son he rarely sees and isn’t all that close to, being far more focused on his career than being a good dad, while Brogdon anxiously awaits the return home to his family. Coogan gets back to his empty apartment, having been offered a role on an HBO series which he rejects; whether for the unlikely reason that he wants to try and get more involved with his family, or because he’s still holding out for a breakout role, we’re not sure. It’s something the next three sequels might reveal. BELOW: Gave me a lol Like what you read? Support the site on Patreon Please report any spelling, grammar, or factual errors or corrections on the contact page
1 Comment
10/30/2022 09:29:19 am
Receive rich investment company family certain hard garden. High mission month fine scene anyone.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
© Jonathan Cvack and Yellow Barrel, 2015 - 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jon Cvack and Yellow Barrel with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
|