Today, our Tribeca team attended the press screening and U.S. premiere for the film, “The Trip,” directed by Michael Winterbottom at Chelsea Clearview Cinemas.

Other than the kick-off movie, “The Union,” this show would be my first movie press screening. A brief synopsis of the movie was listed in the guides we were given. It briefly described the movie as a featured narrative with plenty of comedic banter between the two main actors, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

In the movie, Coogan had to travel around to top-notch, northern English restaurants to critique food for a magazine. When everyone denied accompanying him, including his girlfriend, he turned to Brydon. As the road trip began, the two actors played off of each other’s humor perfectly. The onscreen chemistry really made the banter work. Brydon kept audience members laughing with his humorous yet spot-on impersonations of Sean Connery, Woody Allen, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Caine. Coogan, on the other hand, countered him with witty and snarky responses and what he thought to be his better impersonations of Caine.

Throughout the travel to the six different restaurants and consumption of six different meals, the friendship between the couple was tested. Along the way, long-term questions were raised like, “What really is important in life?” While Coogan had shown his desperation and desire to become a big-time actor, family man Brydon had a positive influence on him and put life’s true treasures in perspective for him.

For those who want a laugh and to experience a story of true friendship, I would definitely recommend the movie, “The Trip.”