Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on The Trip, ABBA Duets and Michael Sheen Envy

There is a certain poignancy in The Trip as well -- say, Steve mock-eulogizing Rob at the graveyard, or...

RB: Oh, that's one of my favorites. The eulogy. We worked very well together in that scene.

SC: They cut out a line in the movie, after I did the eulogy.

RB: What line?

SC: "I think if you were to die before me, it would probably be murder."

RB: That's not in the film?

SC: No.

RB: That's a great line!

SC: Instead you say, "Can I do a eulogy?" And I say, "No. I want it to be a surprise." And then, in the TV version, he says, ""I think if you were to die before me, it would probably be murder."

RB: I said that.

SC: But that's not in the movie.

RB: [To me] Does he leap over the fence in the end?

I don't remember that.

SC: Do I fall in the river?

You do fall in the river.

RB: But not the leap over the fence. We should say something to Michael! Well, it's too late now. But he should put it back in.

SC: There are always so many choices. At least I fall into the river, which is the answer to my aggressive eulogy.

RB: But what I like in the eulogy is that sometimes you just have to revert to comic prototypes in a way. I smile when he's saying things about me. He's being very dismissive, but then when he says a nice thing, he's damning me with faint praise. I like doing that. It's like very basic children's comedy, and I'm quite pleased with it. I like it a lot.

SC: Yeah, it's a nice scene.

What about the duet on [ABBA's] "The Winner Takes it All"? Was that an organic improv moment? I can only imagine the music-clearance headaches afterward.

RB: That was something that just came up.

SC: I'm sure we talked about it not on camera. I'm sure we did. I really like that song; it's my favorite ABBA song. I think I must have brought it up with you.

RB: Well, weren't we doing two duets in the film?

SC: Yeah, and I said, "It might be too much to do both." But we kept both in.

RB: I'm glad we did. I like the singing in the car.

SC: I hate the fact that you don't actually do that first octave.

RB: [To me] Yeah, I didn't do the first octave. It's a cheat.

SC: It's a cheat! He didn't do a full octave, because the first one he does--

RB: I do think I have more range than you, though, still.

SC: You forgot about the first octave. It's about two-thirds of an octave.

RB: I accept it, but I still think I've got a wider singing range than you. I can't do three octaves, I'll give you that. But I still think I can do more than you.

The Trip opens Friday in limited release and arrives on VOD on June 22 through IFC. Check out the trailer here.

Pages: 1 2