The Trip is a courageous and ambitious gay epic romance that follows two men from their meeting as teenagers in the early 70's through the mid-80's. Alan, played by Larry Sullivan (Rush Hour/Catwoman), is a Young Republican who is an aspiring journalist working on a book about the evils of homosexuality. He meets Tommy, played by Steve Braun (The Immortal tv series and the soon-to-be-released Blade:Trinity), who is a gay rights activist and invites him over to dinner for an interview for the book.

The wit in the film I found refreshing and a great break from the usual gay fare.
During the dinner, Tommy asks Alan "So what made you want to become a writer?"
Alan replies, "It's always been my dream since a child. When did you first realize you were gay?"
"It's always been my dream since a child." The ice is broken and the friendship begins.

The friendship develops, then leads to a love affair brilliantly intermeshed with actual historical gay footage including rarely seen episodes of Anita Bryant's televised ravings (and a great pie in the face), and the emerging gay rights movement. These elements mix in with the story in a 'Forrest Gump' sort of way, adding realism and a nostalgic feel to those of us who were growing up at that time. I hit 18 in 1983, so many of the scenes here, I can remember from actual history and first time director, Miles Swain did an excellent job of capturing the mood of the hostile atmosphere at the time.

Split into chronological segments that expand a decade, it is interesting to see the characters mature and change, as well as the fashions, society's tolerance level and music all develop over time.

The Republican/gay aspect, and the incompatibility of the two elements during that time in our history plays out in many ways and is one of the central elements of the film. However, most of it is romance that all couples can relate to and the film does features lighter moments. Still beautiful, Jill St. John plays an understanding mom with comedic wit and a preference for the bottle. Julie Brown plays a Madonna wanna-be receptionist at a gay support group, while Alexis Arquette plays a stereotypical flamer. Sirena Irwin (the voice of Mrs. Squarepants in the Spongebob tv series as well as the voice of several characters in the forthcoming Spongebob movie) starts off as the hippy girlfriend of Alan the Republican, and after the initial anger of rejection, becomes a life long friend. Her phases from a Chrissie-from-Three's-Company ditz to a scientologist fitness guru, ala Jane Fonda, to a businessperson with a heart of gold, mirrors the film's progressional maturity through the decade. Ray Baker (What Lies Beneath/Holes) as the stoic, controlling center of the myriad of characters is perfectly cast.