THE TRAVEL COMPANION (Travis Wood, Alex Mallis 2025)

[Chris Knipp]

ANTHONY OBERBECK, TRISTAN TURNER IN THE TRAVEL COMPANION

TRAVIS WOOD, ALEX MALLIS: THE TRAVEL COMPANION (2025)

Three's a crowd

The center of attention (and definitely of his own) in this entertaining film is Simon (Tristan Turner), a cluelessly egotistical aspiring indie filmmaker. When he gets a clue and loses his free ride care of his Brooklyn roommate Bruce (Anthony Oberbeck), only then he actually makes that second film he's been talking up and putting off completing. You may justifiably want to strangle him much of the way, but the filmmakers (who co-wrote with Weston Auburn) save some sympathy (with help from Tristan Turner) and grant Simon some success. This is a buddy picture, a travel picture, and a slightly mumblecore depiction of the world of indie film.

Simon rooms in Brooklyn with Bruce (Anthony Oberbeck), who's been his friend since third grade. Simoh is on the front stoop with a hero sandwich for Bruce when he comes back from work at the airport. They enjoy working out together and they look good doing it. But Bruce is the grownup and Simon is the child. Bruce is the coordinator of flights for an airline. In this role he gets to designate a "travel companion" who gets free flights everywhere all year on standby. In this role Simon has been shooting film - or has he only been thinking of doing so? This activity helps give Simon a sense of creative identity to be someone other than a guy who makes short promotional films for a taxi company, his day job.

As the film begins Simon is on a festival stage with a half dozen other directors of shorts. At the end of the row, he doesn't get to be introduced before they're told they must clear the auditorium. Bruce is in the audience to support him, and also there is Beatrice (Naomi Asa), who they invite to join them for a drink. Beatrice is also a small filmmaker. She becomes a double threat for Simon. When Bruce starts to date her, Simon's importance for Bruce diminishes and he's likely to lose his "travel companion" status. Simon's jealousy and clueless self-centeredness are increasingly evident. When he talks about his endlessly shopped debut short film or his endlessly hyped but not even started second film it's all a lot of BS.

A memorable moment is the one where Bruce asks Simon to do his "schvitz" (a zip-up steam room) in his own bedroom and he takes it in the living room anyway, saying that if he did that he wouldn't be able to talk to Bruce. That "talk" obviously is mostly a springboard for Simon's monologues.

Simon is often careless or rude toward people. Somehow, Bruce's indulgence and forgiveness are a bit touching because he's being decent and a good friend. Simon is clearly not a bad person. He's just a man child in his early thirties who's not yet grown up. His creativity isn't fake. He's just stuck. But his selfishness is clear because it's obvious he's more concerned about losing his free trips than about losing his friend. Relations between him and Beatrice aren't unfriendly. He is all admiration when he encounters her making a very expensive big-production commercial in a New York residential street. Simon has to learn some home truths and Bruce has to stopp putting up with him for him to come unstuck and be a mensch.

Here where they piggy-backed on an actual film production for Beatrice's plum directing job the filmmakers are skillful at making a very good looking movie on a very small budget in a very short time. The local scene is engagingly and richly used. Simon meets up with an entrepreneurial and philosophizing cab driver (Anil Joseph) who's appealing, and makes use of the driver in his own work when that blooms finally at the end. Excellent cinematography by Jason Chiu, editing by Bryan Chang, and score by Eliot Krimsky.

I]The Travel Companion[/I], 90 mins., premiered at Tribeca June 5, 2025 and shown at a number of other small domestic fests. US theatrical release by Oscilloscope starting April 10, 2026. Los Angeles, CA – April 25 – Los Feliz 3 Theatre [+Q&A]. No Metascore yet.