by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

Tinsel & Tine’s Look at

3rd in Foodie Film Series

For a food and film blog, I have to admit my foodie movie posts are few and far between. Often, I’ll see a foodie film trailer and be like, I’ve gotta get back to that, but the plot doesn’t really pull me into wanting to see it. Not so with this series of foodie travel films starring British comedians Rob Brydon & Steve Coogan. THE TRIP TO SPAIN is the 3rd, written and directed by Michael Winterbottom. They’re actually a BBC TV series, starting in 2010 with THE TRIP, which are edited into feature films; the first one premiered at The Toronto Film Festival.

Brydon & Coogan play fictionalized versions of themselves, they’re sort of friends and rivals, you’re always aware they don’t spend a lot of time with each other on a regular basis, but somehow they fall into a great rhythm on these trips. The first one Coogan is asked to write a restaurant review tour of Northern England, he’s supposed to go with his girlfriend, but they break up shortly before the trip and he winds up reluctantly asking Brydon to come. Then in the second one THE TRIP TO ITALY,  if I remember correctly, it’s Brydon who is asked to do a similar piece, this time in Italy, and he convinces Coogan to come again.

For this third adventure, Coogan wants to write a Laurie Lee-esque memoir, revisiting the country he first explored as a teenager.  I don’t actually know who Laurie Lee is; some British references always go over my head in each movie, but for the most part, these films are a hoot! Particularly their dueling impressions; like Mick Jagger and Michael Caine and Mick Jagger doing a bad impersonation of Michael Caine and so many others; mostly done over delectable meals of tapas and what Coogan refers to as life affirming butter in the Basque region. Along the way, we get tidbits of their “personal lives & careers” thrown in between sightseeing and many references to Don Quixote tilting at Windmills. It’s British comedy comfort food.

Restaurant Locales  – I think the first movie was the foodiest of the three; the restaurants, chefs and meals were more heavily featured. In The Trip to Italy and The Trip to Spain, the food tends to be a pleasant backdrop to the comedy and male musings on life.  However, if you’d like to see a slide show of the restaurants featured from all 3 trips click HERE.

Rob Brydon: Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. 😆

The Windmills of Your Mind is one of my favorite songs written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman & Michel Legrand and it’s featured prominently in The Trip to Spain.  My favorite rendition is by Maureen McGovern from her album”The Music Never Ends”

(note below music video will not be visible to those receiving T&T via RSS feed click HERE to listen)

Tinsel & Tine gave away tickets to see a preview screening of “The Trip to Spain” at Ritz at the Bourse Landmark Theater. In my top collage image, I’m pictured with 2 winners LaGreta Brown and her husband James. T&T often gives away movie passes, be sure to sign up to receive the Newsletter!

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