The Trip to Spain

Still amusing.

The first of the series I've seen, and it doesn't really work. What is it? It's not a show about Spain, really....one learns next to nothing about the country, aside from a smattering of history. As a lover of Spanish food, it's a complete disappointment on the restaurant front--half the time, we aren't even told what town they're in, much less a restaurant name. It's two friends on a road trip goofing around and doing actor impressions. If you like the end of "Tristam Shandy", you'll LOVE this.

Mansplaining - Part III

Not quite as funny as the first and doesn't have as good views as the second, but it does have an entertaining ending.

Absolutely the lesser of the movies. There are still a lot of fun to be had when they are playing their little conversational games but the movie loses a lot of steam once they veer away from the established formula or try to make me really care about their familial drama. The cinematography is improving with each film.

A European country, delicious cuisine, and lots of impressions. I love the formula of The Trip series. However, The Trip to Spain is the Godfather III of this series. It is good but Italy and the UK were way better.

Funny stuff but much the same as the other ones.

This might be the funniest of the three entries, though it wanes after a strong opening half hour or so. And while I appreciate comedy that seeks to retain a fuller sense of the human experience, the serious business that comes up in the film's final half hour feels extraneous rather than of a piece with what's gone before. That sense of the film feeling "constructed" undermines the closing message, and in retrospect creates a negative impression regarding the more free flowing opening segment.

I reckon that the next one will be completely narrated by Captain Bligh and Charlie Croker. That aside, as a fan of the entire series, I'm absolutely amused - keep popping one of these every year.

As expected, more time with these two enjoyable friends. And then the ending from nowhere...

Mostly eschews the melancholy of the second film (and can't hit it when it tries), in favor of highlighting impressions over dinner over-and-over again.

Feels like it's coming to a natural end. There are undoubted moments of class strewn throughout, but they're becoming less common.

Regardless of Coogan's impeccable John Hurt & Ian McKellen impressions, it's time to wrap this series up.

I saw this being called The Godfather 2 of road movies, though it's probably more like The Godfather 3. Diminishing returns with this series, though it's simply and easily amusing conceit continues to entertain in quite a grounded manner.

Treading water compared to the first & second instalments of the franchise. There is the same sweeping vistas, food-porn & irreverence within the halls of whichever historic landmark that is come across, but the plot seemed to be an afterthought, and appears rather late in the series too. As for the tone, a similar shot at introspective contemplation is eventually conjured, again, late in the piece. I found this same tone more effectively depicted in the Italian segment with the Brydon plotline.

A deeper dive into existentialism than expected, revealing that their comedic patter has always concealed life's loneliness and fear of death.