The Trip (2002)

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Absolutely the worst movie.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

OK, I'm most likely in the minority here, but i was not a fan of this movie. I liked parts of it, I liked the whole gay activism theme of the movie, i very much enjoyed that, along with the occasional view of real life footage, and i thought the acting was quite good. However, i didn't think it was a good movie. I think the only time it got to be a good movie was the final 20 minutes, when they were on the road trip. If the entire movie had been like that, two exes on a road trip reuniting, i might have enjoyed it a bit more, but i just didn't enjoy it for some reason. I don't think i can really put my finger on why i didn't like it, i just didn't. It seemed a little too predictable i guess, a couple of things weren't explained very well, and i guess i would have liked to have seen a bit more of Alan (or Andy, i'm not very good with names) and his coming out process. It just seemed like 'yep, i'm now gay!'. I would have liked to have seen it explored a bit more, his mindset while he was writing the book. Anyway, that's just my opinion. An OK movie, just not one i'd watch again

Although earnest and well meaning, "The Trip" eventually falls victim to a series of preposterous plot turns and derivative rip-offs of other movies. Set in the 1970's and early 1980's, a romance develops between gay activist Tommy and closeted Republican writer Alan. Opposites do attract, and the appealing leads, which are played by Larry Sullivan and Steve Braun, have chemistry and try hard to make the absurd seem convincing. When Alan's book, which is critical of gay rights, is published without his consent, the work undercuts Tommy's political activism. However, the two men, who have been together several years at this point, never discuss the matter or work toward a solution. Evidently, their relationship takes a back seat to everything else, which, in this film, includes even the proverbial kitchen sink. Without revealing too much of the convoluted plot, a "Thelma and Louise" spree unexpectedly develops in Mexico, Alan's mother breaks in on a dinner party and takes to looting the silverware, and an airline ticket clerk turns into a Medusa when Tommy coughs during check-in. Do not even ask how these segments fit together.Director-writer Miles Swain had too many ideas swirling around simultaneously. Instead of focusing on the evolving relationship between Tommy and Alan, Swain wanders all over the gay landscape. Fortunately, he does find some amusing characters, especially a spacey Valley Girl, wonderfully played by Sirena Irwin; her initial encounter with Tommy is one of the film's best scenes. Jill St. John also has a great time as Alan's free-spirited mother, and she enlivens every scene she steals. Unfortunately, Alexis Arquette fills the requisite dizzy-queen stereotype, and his over-the-top performance eventually grates.Swain evidently never decided if "The Trip" was to be a comedy, a romance, or a political discourse, because the film rambles into each genre without developing any focus. While the movie is generally entertaining, especially for undemanding fans of PG-rated gay-romances, Swain's work is less than the sum of its parts. Although actresses St. John and Irwin walk off with the honors in a boy-boy romance, Sullivan and Braun hold their own when on their own. If viewers can suspend disbelief for 90 minutes, they may be modestly entertained. However, whatever their feelings about the film, everyone will keep "The Trip" near the TV just to replay the priceless scene when Anita Bryant received a pie in the face.

The first half of it is interesting, a beautiful love story. The middle part is touching. And the final part really made me think. To think about life, time and love. It is one of the very few movies that makes me think after viewing it. Though, because of living environment, I cannot understand some parts of it, such as Nixon and Republicans. If I could, I probably will give it a higher score. So it is hard for me to write much about the essence of the plot. I was so astonished when I saw Americans paraded for gays' rights already in the 1970's. But so far, it is good enough. It consists unawareness, happiness, twist, death and not being able to control.

I absolutely fell in love with this film it was funny and sooo romantic and was everything I look for in a movie for gay men and their followers! The film was compelling and the romance between the two leads was the best I have seen in a very long time. Also Jill St. John was great and raised the question where has she been! However, to me the film changed and at the end of one of the most wonderfully romantic films, I was watching one of the saddest I have ever seen. All I can say was that a great film left me hugely depressed and I wondered why can't their be a happy ending for any gay films that deal with romance as well as this one did? This is film not real life and when you make a loving couple so lovable together what the director did was wrong. Sorry if you disagree but these are my feelings! P.S I was so upset by the end I had a nightmare and I never get them from films!