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Phil Fisk/IFC Films
MOVIE REVIEW
The Trip to Spain (2017)
The third installment of the Steve Coogan-Rob Brydon-Michael Winterbottom BBC Two/Sky Atlantic six-part sitcom and companion abridged big-screen version, “The Trip to Spain” reunites the comedians and filmmaker for more culinary samplings, showbiz inside baseball, celebrity impersonations and narcissistic midlife crises. Their journey encompasses Getaria, Sos del Rey Catolico, Cuenca, La Mancha, Granada and Malaga in the titular country, this time with extra braggadocio from Mr. Coogan boasting his Oscar nod for “Philomena” and extra envy from Mr. Brydon toward James Corden’s newfound success as a talk-show host in America.
It’s a bit unfair to judge the theatrical iterations 0f these TV series since they are clearly byproducts rather than the full artistic visions of all involved. Theatrical digests of “The Trip” and “The Trip to Italy” were pleasant and amusing enough to endear art-house patrons and critics alike. “Spain” offers more of the same, and has unsurprisingly received similar admiration. But the world has changed a great deal since “The Trip” began in 2010, and the TV/film series seems quite oblivious for not reflecting on or even acknowledging any of it.
Given Mr. Winterbottom’s socially progressive filmography that boasts the Afghan refugee masterpiece, “In This World,” the “Spain” feature film feels like an irresponsibly missed opportunity for not tackling Brexit – especially when the time and place seem so ripe for it, and there’s even someone resembling a migrant worker waiting on the comedians at one of those fancy eateries. Perhaps entertainment industry shallowness and self-involvedness is precisely their point, but that certainly makes this particular outing excruciating.
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