NEW YORK (CNS) -- Think carefully before embarking on "The Trip to Italy" (IFC), an occasionally tasteless grand tour through the Italian peninsula.

What can be an enchanting travelogue, with breathtaking scenery and mouth-watering cuisine, is, regrettably, offset by some vulgar humor and sexual situations which place this film squarely in the adult camp.

Two British actor/comedians, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, set out on a road trip, along the lines of their 2010 film, "The Trip," a restaurant tour through northern England. Michael Winterbottom returns as director, blurring the lines between real-life documentary and fictional drama.

Fine cuisine and grand hotels are the primary goals. There's also a bit of history, as the travel buddies retrace the steps of the 19th-century English Romantic poets Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Hollywood movies are a shared passion. They drive a Mini Cooper convertible (shades of "The Italian Job") and reminisce about Italian-set classics such as "The Godfather," "Roman Holiday" and "La Dolce Vita." In between, they make a number of vulgar jokes.

As the lads wend their way from Turin to Naples, personal issues intervene. Both fret about work and relationships as much as their next meal. Coogan, divorced, misses his teenage son. Brydon, married with a young daughter, has a roving eye that gets him into trouble.

The travelers are brilliant impersonators, and "The Trip to Italy" works best when they skewer fellow actors such as Al Pacino, Michael Caine and Hugh Grant.

Directors also are fair game. Admiring the seagulls flying above the Bay of Naples, Brydon improvises that Alfred Hitchcock, when directing the 1963 horror classic "The Birds," gave each feathered friend a name, and offered individual direction.

"Over here, Gregory," "Hitchcock" instructs one gull. "Peck."

The film contains adultery, implied nonmarital sexual activity, sexual humor and innuendo, and occasional crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

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McAleer is a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service.

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CAPSULE REVIEW

"The Trip to Italy" (IFC)

Two British comedians (Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon) set out on a grand tour of the Italian peninsula, in this follow-up to 2010's "The Trip," directed again by Michael Winterbottom. The lines are blurred between real-life documentary and fictional drama as the duo journey from Turin to Naples in search of fine cuisine, grand hotels, and sites associated with nineteenth-century English Romantic poets. Along the way the lads banter about movies, impersonate famous actors, make vulgar jokes, and fret about work and relationships. Regrettably, what can be an enchanting travelogue, with breathtaking scenery and mouth-watering meals, is offset by some tasteless humor and sexual situations, placing this film squarely in the adult camp. Adultery, implied nonmarital sexual activity, sexual humor and innuendo, and frequent crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III - adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

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CLASSIFICATION

"The Trip to Italy" (IFC) -- Catholic News Service classification, A-III -- adults. Motion Picture Association of America rating, not rated.