2010's The Trip was a surprise success when it was released to a limited audience and an immense amount of critical praise. It's success was such a surprise because, to put it bluntly, not a lot really happens in The Trip other than some arguments, a few Michael Caine impressions and the occasional bit of womanising from Coogan. Oh yes, and lots of food.

The Trip to Italy
Stunning scenery and middle aged men mocking younger men takes up most of The Trip to Italy

That formula proved so successful that the two have been shipped out on a food adventure once again, this time tasting what Italy has to offer. Michael Winterbottom is back in the driving seat for The Trip to Italy, taking stars Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan across a culinary map of Italy for the sake of a food journalism (kind of).

The sequel to the pair's journey around the various food establishments of England contains a number of similarities to the first, but how can you possibly go wrong with even more Michael Caine impressions? Caine is brought up again when the pair discuss The Dark Knight and whether sequels are even better than the originals - fitting conversation subject for this film. The pair also chat about the "muscular" Tom Hardy and the "bald" Jude Law, take a few jabs at Michael Bublé and let the stream of banter flow between them like a broken faucet.

Trip to Italy still
The pair said during the Q&A that filming was a quaint and hassle free as this shot suggests

The two wittering co-stars and Winterbottom were both in attendance at the Sundance Film Festival this week to air the premiere of the new film and discuss what working with each other is actually like. Turns out Coogan and Brydon don't actually have a hidden feeling of derision towards each other (they claimed) after all, they're actually quite fond of one another, as Brydon explained that they had "a lovely time this time” with filming. The dialogue too has become more toned down as they have become more fond of each other, something that resulted in crying more than once. 

Brydon said, “I suppose the difference is we don’t see that much of each other normally, so we would never go on that kind of trip in reality, and the conversations would be far more …  supportive of each other. They’d be duller and there wouldn’t be impressions and we wouldn’t be trying to push each other’s buttons. We were in tears on more than one occasion, talking about the passing of the years.”

Still, this doesn't mean that they're quite as chatty as they are when the camera is rolling, but did admit that “there’s not really a script at all” for the film. Although there were no impressions at the post-screening Q&A, there was some good news in the way of future releases, as Coogan quipped "if Richard Linklater can do three, I think we can,” referring to the Before Midnight director's final lovers trilogy. Looks like we might have a few more questionable impressions to hear from the two after all.

The Trip to Italy arrives in cinemas later this year.

Rob Brydon Steve Coogan
Maybe a trip to France or somewhere more exotic is on the cards next?