Starts with a bang; ends with a whimper
The Trip is a fun little horror/comedy that outstays its welcome long before the predictable ending. It’s like riding the same rollercoaster multiple times, the joy and exhilaration soon turns to uncomfortable impatience as you wait for the ride to end. That pretty much sums up The Trip, which comfortably tiptoes across a tightrope of ideas before buckling before the end of its bloated 110 minute run-time.
The opening 45 minutes of The Trip are a story of a dysfunctional and disgruntled couple that both have plans to kill the other, but as fate would have it things soon turn from crazy to outrageous. The couple is in their early 30s and live in a small town in upstate New York. They are both unhappy with each other and have been for years. Their relationship has been characterized by mutual violence, cheating, and drunkenness.
As the two friends prepare to spend their weekend together, Lisa is eager to get started on her new hobby of tasing people. Lars, however, is hesitant to let Lisa do this without first getting his approval. Lisa quickly realizes that she can’t just go ahead and start tasing people without Lars’s okay, so she decides to take things one step at a time. She starts by asking him if he’s comfortable with her using the taser on him. After a moment of hesitation, Lars finally agrees and Lisa proceeds to shock him with the weapon.
The Trip starts out with a bit of Mr. and Mrs. Smith feeling through the opening bouts of the film, which eventually leads to a tonal shift midway through the movie, where Lisa and Lars find themselves turning from predators to prey. It’s very obvious where the movie is going after this and given how unpredictable the first half was, it’s disappointing that The Trip takes such a lackadaisical turn. ..
The comedy in “Truth” is pretty good, but it quickly turns into crude slapstick that loses its appeal very quickly. It’s akin to someone telling you a really funny joke… and then going on to elaborate and retell the joke again to get bigger laughs - it just doesn’t work. ..
The Trip is a film that’s worth watching on a Friday night. It’s not as bad as some of Netflix’s other horror/comedy films, but it has some flaws that make it less enjoyable.
The Trip is a fun watch but it’s unlikely to be remembered for very long after the credits roll.
