The Trip

I first saw this movie in February 2004 and posted my original review on 02/15/2004. Jump forward to 04/03/2013. I haven't watched this movie in years and just pulled it out today. I'm a bit surprised as to my original review as to why I was a bit harsh with this movie. I've always had an affection for this flick! I'm leaving the original review up modifying it significantly here. "Older and wiser" and a lot more movies under my belt! Yes, I still think the wigs are terrible! Anyone watching Sonny (Freddie Smith) and Will (Chandler Massey) on "Days of our Lives" will see the correlation in their story in Alan and Tommy. Yes, the ending still gives me an emotional reaction that I don't have with most movies. Alan's emotional scene in the car when Tommy passes away crying that he couldn't lose him as he just got him back." Wow! One doesn't see scenes like this very often. Anyone who has their hearts on their sleeves and a romantic at heart... this movie will touch you greatly! My original review follows:First, my favorite scene in this movie doesn't involve any of the fictional storyline, but watching the footage of Anita Bryant taking a much deserved pie in the face. The idea behind this movie has a lot of promise and the cast of actors to pull it off. The main actors, Larry Sullivan (Alan) and Steve Braun (Tommy), have a nice chemistry together. However, they and the rest of the cast are constantly hampered by a contrite and uneven script and the worst wigs that play a constant distraction while watching the movie. There are some funny and serious moments in this film that shine, but, unfortunately, not enough. The "main" part of the movie- the trip- doesn't come until the end and that storyline is too abbreviated and does get to be a bit unbelievable in a short sub-plot with a Mexican police officer. I was left with an uneasy feeling and question at the end. What happened to Tommy's body? Did Alan bury it in Mexico? Did he throw it over the cliff- as Alan appears to be gazing down at "something" while standing at the edge? Or did Alan make the effort to bring Tommy "home"?This script and flick could have been more potent if the movie had extended Alan and Tommy's drive through Mexico and the movie played prior events in their lives together in flashbacks. The strength of this movie is Tommy and Alan's relationship and when they break up, the plot seems to wander a bit. As affecting- and unexpected- as Alan and Tommy's last scene together was, the movie would have had more of an emotional impact had they made it back to the United States before their ultimate departure from each other.The actual historical footage of the gay rights movement through the '70's and '80's is as interesting to watch as the movie itself. A longer shoot time and bigger budget would have improved the overall power of this film. Kudos to the cast though! Larry Sullivan, Steve Braun, Alexis Arquette ("I Think I Do"), Julie Brown, and Jill St. John do make the best of what is given to them. For their talent and effort, I do give this film a recommendation to see as. "The Trip" does a wonderful job of conveying some "life lessons" about love; commitment; family; being true to yourself; and consequences for actions, both good and bad. I just had higher hopes with this cast and this premise for the movie. "The Trip" does trip, but does not fall completely on its face.

So I was browsing Amazon.com the other day and found this one independent film named "The Trip" and coincidentally I'd heard about it and had heard it was really good...... Anyway so after seeing the trailer from the official site (thetrip-themovie.com) I decided to buy it online. A couple of days later it arrived and sure enough I popped it in the DVD player and watched... so what did I think about it?Well let me not oversell this...IT'S THE BEST MOVIE EVER!!!...It really is so good!!! It's the story of first love for these two guys and it begins in 1973 and follows them all the way through to 1984. It's so great... the cast is wonderful, the story is beautiful and poignant... it's got a lot of substance despite it being an indie film (I love indie films). It's also hilarious... which is amazing on its own because it's got so much to tell but never get preachy or boring or even sappy... and it still manages to be freaking funny! Laugh out loud funny!Now onto the superficial stuff... the actors are hot... ...and they have such chemistry together. It's not like you wath and say "Those two hated each other"... not at all... they're so good together.The lead character is Alan (played by Larry Sullivan, hot and so... adorable! He's guest starred on quite a few shows including Will & Grace... for those who wanna know, he's the dancer Will dated and was embarrassed to introduce to Grace... he's a great actor) and Tommy (Steve Braun... Canadian actor... very cute... very talented). The supporting cast (the noticeable ones anyway) are Beverly (played by Sirena Irwin) and Michael ( Alexis Arquette, David Arquette's younger brother and an indie film favorite).Alan is a "straight" republican aspiring author writing a book about the homosexual lifestyle through the ages... and he uses that as an excuse to get closer to the hot blonde he doesn't admit he's attracted to, Tommy. Tommy is an out and proud gay activist from Texas who just moved to L.A. to "change people's minds about gay people." His first friend in L.A. and roomate is Michael who is the kid you knew all through elementary school, junior high, and high school was gay. He's out there and quite flamboyant and well...... adorable and so ... funny! Beverly is Alan's girlfriend at the time Tommy and Alan meet and she is the ever evolving character in the movie. You see her change as time passes and you'll notice she's always just a tad ahead of her time... she becomes the boys' best friend despite her boyfriend Alan replacing her with Tommy.The DVD comes with great extra features like 8 deleted scenes, bloopers, cast/director/writer commentaries even for the deleted scenes... and a behind the scenes featurette.I recommend this movie very strongly and if you trust me enough... go and buy it...

This one is worth watching for the fact that this isn't another glossy soft core gay porn movie. the director and screenweriter actually took time to develop the protaganist as fully developed human beings complete with personality flaws and political ideologies. I would have given the picture a higher rating but it does a huge flaw in it. The flaw being that there is a superflous character played by Alexis Arquette which borders on tasteless stereotypical parody and worst of all the character is pointless and doesn't move the story forward.Otherwise the two leads give charming performances and the film has a lot of heart.