Directing: B
Acting: B
Writing: B
Cinematography: B+
Editing: B+

I’ve said it before, and I guess I’ll say it again: The Trip, in which Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play fictionalized versions of themselves driving all over Northern England to review pretentious restaurants, was bright, breezy fun in 2011. The Trip to Italy was more light, breezy fun in 2014. And when they did The Trip to Spain in 2017, it was even more light, breezy fun, albeit with just a hint of diminishing returns. That third film had a baffling twist ending, and left me wondering if these two would do any more of these films. Well, The Trip to Greece, which was actually released in mid-2020, came right on schedule: all four of these films have been released three years apart. In a way, this series joins the likes of the Harry Potter series or “The Up Series” of documentaries, or even the Before Sunrise trilogy. We’re watching people, and their relationships, age in real time.

Somehow, even though I’ve noted it in all three of my previous reviews, I forgot that in every case of The Trip movies, the source material is a six-episode British television series, edited into a feature film. I’d be curious to see the greater depth the series reportedly gets into, although, ironically, watching The Trip to Greece had me thinking about how even the films feel very much like watching a series. Now they are just four episodes with an average length of an hour and 45 minutes, the general tone always consistent, just the setting changing each time. All four films are available to stream on Hulu.

And the thing is, even as feature films, I would argue they work better as a home watch. The Trip to Greece is the first in the series I did not see in a movie theater, and I really couldn’t say for certain whether I would have gone out of my way to see this one in theaters were they open right now. Perhaps I would, but it really would have depended on whether or not it was just the best option at the time, given that typically in February, quality films are harder to come by. We are in very different times now, however, and it’s not at all difficult to find worthy content. Honestly the only reason I am reviewing this movie now, fully nine months after its release, is because I am a completist and don’t want to have only reviewed the previous three.

That said, there is almost nothing to differentiate The Trip to Greece from its predecessors. If you enjoyed the others, you’re apt to enjoy this; if you did not, then don’t bother. It’s essentially more of the same, the change of scenery being immaterial: the whole point is that they are traveling, and nearly every place they have gone through all of these films has been in Europe. There’s not a lot of space for, say, culture shock. Instead, they spend a lot of time at restaurant tables, amusing each other with their endless impressions of famous actors. And I do mean endless: this is a constant theme through all four films. I suppose it would get stale quickly if you did a binge-watch of all four films, but seeing them all three years apart makes it work, a pleasant diversion.

There is a very subtle undertone of melancholy as this series ages, however, and The Trip to Greece even touches on the death of a loved one. Coogan and Brydon spend a fair amount of time making cracks about their respective ages—and to be fair, they weren’t even particularly young when the series began a decade ago, when they were both 45 years old. Add another ten, and you know how old they are now.

And now, they say, this is the end of them producing this series; they want to “quit while they’re ahead,” which is a respectable position to take. I can’t say any of these films is especially vital, but considering they still leave open the possibility of returning to it many years down the road, that could also be an interesting experiment. We certainly don’t need more of these every three years indefinitely; they can only ruminate on celebrity and mortality for so long, and three years is really not that long. It’s a far cry from, say, the nine years between every Before Sunrise sequel, or the seven between all the Seven-Up documentary sequels. Maybe they should make another The Trip movie in some multiple-of-three years from now. How about nine? Someone should slip series director Michael Winterbottom a reminder note in 2029. Coogan and Brydon will be 64 then and even bigger, possibly more entertaining cranks.

*Another three years, another European country.*

Overall: B