‘The Travel Companion’ Review: A Bromance Goes Adrift in a Gently Wry Indie Amble

Home Film News May 3, 2026 3:51am PT ‘The Travel Companion’ Review: A Bromance Goes Adrift in a Gently Wry Indie Amble A portrait of a struggling filmmaker whose life and passion project have the same undefined form, the debut feature from Travis Wood and Alex Mallis is drolly ironic but not exhaustingly meta. By Guy Lodge Plus Icon Guy Lodge Film Critic @guylodge Latest ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Review: Hotly Anticipated Sequel Is Breezily Diverting Fan Service and, Well, That’s All 4 days ago ‘The Sheep Detectives’ Review: Wholesomely Offbeat Family Comedy Has Bags Full of Charm 6 days ago ‘Apex’ Review: Man Is the Predator in a Rip-Roaring Outdoor Duel Between Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton 1 week ago See All Oscilloscope Laboratories So frequently does New York-based independent filmmaker Simon (Tristan Turner) repeat the shaggy one-line pitch for the documentary he’s working on — it’s “a nostalgia-piece travelogue about past, present and future, a eulogy for lost history” — that he’s probably long stopped thinking about what it actually means. If, indeed, it means anything at all. Simon’s life, too, has taken on the same unexamined shapelessness, as the early-thirtysomething keeps waiting for some undefined break, breakthrough or eureka moment, while doing very little to make it happen for himself. An unassuming but perceptive debut feature from writer-directors Travis Wood and Alex Mallis, “The Travel Companion” observes an artist’s supposedly roving spirit critically at odds with his manchild dependencies. Related Stories 'Saros' Star Rahul Kohli and Developer on How New PlayStation Game Connects to 'Returnal,' Gameplay Tips and Why Arjun's Dialogue Was Re-Recorded