*What a Trip* is a Weird, Wonderful Little Detour

Alright, so is *What a Trip* worth your time today? Look, if you’re a film history nut or just someone who enjoys a truly odd, forgotten adventure, then absolutely. It's not for the blockbuster crowd, not by a long shot. Anyone who needs fast pacing or a deep plot will probably be bored out of their mind, but for the rest of us, it’s a charmer. 🎬

The film, if you can call it that, feels like it was cooked up on a dare. It sort of follows this guy, a regular Joe played by John J. Richardson, who somehow ends up on a really strange road trip. Things just keep happening to him.

Vernon Dent pops up as this incredibly flustered fellow. His whole shtick is just pure, unadulterated exasperation. It's a joy to watch him slowly unravel over the smallest things. The way he adjusts his tie after a minor tumble, like it's the most important part of the entire ordeal. That's a classic Dent move right there.

There's this one scene, maybe halfway through, where Richardson’s character tries to fix a flat tire. It goes on for ages, honestly. He struggles with the wrench, the spare wheel keeps rolling away, and Dent just stands there, hands on his hips, offering increasingly unhelpful advice. The silence starts to feel awkward rather than emotional, but it builds into this really funny moment. It's like a drawn-out physical gag.

You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters. And it does, sort of, for the sheer absurdity. It makes you wonder how many takes they did. 🤔

The whole thing has this very low-stakes vibe. The "stakes" are literally just getting to the next town. But every single obstacle feels monumental to these guys. A loose chicken crossing the road becomes a whole ordeal. They treat it like they’re diffusing a bomb.

I distinctly remember a shot where Dent is trying to hail a car, and he keeps missing the timing. The cars just zoom past him, leaving him in a cloud of dust. One reaction shot lingers so long it becomes funny. His face, coated in dust, just staring off into the distance. Priceless.

And the editing! Oh, the editing. Sometimes it just cuts abruptly. You’ll be in the middle of a scene, and then *snap*, you’re somewhere else entirely. It’s not smooth, but it gives it this almost surreal, dreamlike quality. Like someone took a pair of scissors to the film stock and just went for it.

There’s a bit where they have to cross a small stream, and Dent, being Dent, somehow manages to get his hat stuck on a tree branch. Richardson tries to knock it down with a stick, and it just leads to more chaos. It’s not sophisticated humor, but it’s earnest. It’s honest.

The dialogue is sparse, which is a good thing. A lot of the story is told through their facial expressions and the physical comedy. Dent is a master of the double-take. He does it like three times in a single minute during that stream scene.

It’s not a film that’s trying to be profound. Not even a little bit. It’s just two guys, or maybe more accurately, one guy and his increasingly annoyed companion, going on a journey where nothing quite goes right. And that’s okay.

The movie gets noticeably better once it stops taking itself seriously, which it kinda does from the jump. It just leans into the silliness. You can see the charm in its rough edges. It’s like finding a really old, slightly bent postcard. 💌

Didja notice?

• That one background extra who keeps looking directly at the camera.
• The suitcase Vernon Dent carries seems to change color slightly between shots.
• A dog barks off-screen for a good two minutes, totally unrelated to anything happening.
• Richardson's character pulls a giant sandwich out of nowhere. Where did that come from?
• The car they eventually get into looks like it’s barely holding together. You can almost hear it creak.
• Someone clearly didn't know how to frame a shot sometimes. Lots of headroom, or chopped-off feet.

This isn't a masterpiece, not by any stretch. But it’s a **genuinely interesting artifact**. If you appreciate a good old-fashioned dose of slapstick, and don't mind a slower pace, then What a Trip might just surprise you. It’s a trip, alright. Just maybe not the one you expect. 😉