Things feel somewhat programmatic in this sequel to The Trip, as Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (playing exaggerated versions of themselves) take another foodie journey, this time across the Italian countryside and coastline. Yet the heart of The Trip to Italy is thankfully the same thing that made the first film, also drawn from a BBC series of the same name, so entertaining: their impromptu frenemy conversations, peppered with plenty of celebrity impersonations. Returning director Michael Winterbottom also finds new dishes and new vistas on which to train his camera—all lovely, if dripping with a heightened affluence that feels a bit self-satisfied this time around.
