I so very much wanted to love "The Trip." It has so many wonderful elements going for it, including songs and footage that invoke an era I remember well. At its heart is a bittersweet love story that somehow manages to retain much of its intended poignancy is spite of its gross mishandling by cast and crew. The scenes where Alan (Larry Sullivan) holds Tommy (Steve Braun) and strokes his hair as he sleeps by the side of the road and later cradles him in his arms and touches his face after he has died are heartbreakingly well-realized. But what really broke my heart was the fact that this movie should have been so much more than it is. Unevenly directed by Miles Swain, with performances that ranged from stilted to amateurishly overdone, "The Trip" is closer to a bad '70s made-for-TV movie than a feature film. Steve Braun does generate his fair share of appeal as Tommy, and the concept behind the film deserves far batter treatment than it received. Someday, in a better world, there will be no more AIDS, no more selfish deceptions, no more "I love yous" left unsaid. Someday, in a better world, this story will be retold the way it should have been done to begin with. At its core, "The Trip" is about opportunities missed. As a film, it serves as its own case in point.
Review of The Trip
