Sällskapsresan, which translates from Swedish as The Charter Trip, is a 1980 Swedish comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 and the first in a series directed by Lasse Åberg

Lasse Åberg

Lars Gunnar Åberg , better known as Lasse Åberg, is a Swedish actor, musician, film director and artist. He was born in the small town Hofors, but grew up in Stockholm...

. The movie has reached cult status in Sweden and a vast number of the Swedish people have seen it, and many of the lines in the movie are known and used daily by many Swedes.

Plot

The plot follows a stuffy, nerdy Swede, Stig-Helmer Olsson (Lasse Åberg), who travels to the fictional town of Nueva Estocolmo in Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...

. At the airport in Sweden, he meets a man from Norway, Ole Bramserud (Jon Skolmen

Jon Skolmen

Jon Skolmen is a Norwegian actor and comedian. Between 1963 and 1981, he was employed by the Norwegian state broadcasting company NRK, where he most notably co-wrote and appeared in "The Nor-Way to Broadcasting" alongside Trond Kirkvaag, which won the Golden Rose of Montreux and Chaplin Award at...

). Before the trip, he calls for a meeting with a psychiatrist called Dr. B. A:son Levander for treating his flying-fear. Levander then cons Stig-Helmer into smuggling money to Nueva Estocolmo for another of the travellers, Gösta Angerud (Roland Jansson) by telling him that he has an aunt at Nueva Estocolmo and gives Stig-Helmer the money in a christmas present

Christmas Present

- References :*...

. (Unknown to Stig-Helmer, the money is stuffed in a bread loaf.) Among the other travellers are two middle-aged women, Maj-Britt (Lottie Ejebrandt) and Siv (Kim Anderzon

Kim Anderzon

Kerstin Kristina Birgitta "Kim" Anderzon is a Swedish actress active in film and theatre. In the early part of her career she was at Pistolteatern...

); the alcoholic duo Berra Ohlsson (Sven Melander

Sven Melander

Sven Alarik Melander is a Swedish journalist, TV show host and actor. He led the Swedish TV show Snacka om nyheter.He was born and raised in Malmö, Skåne, but now lives in Saltsjö-Duvnäs...

) and Robban Söderberg (Weiron Holmberg) who looks for a liquor store named Pepe's Bodega throughout the movie; and the Storch couple who are laughed at by Berra and Robban because of the similar pronouncing of Storch and stork

Stork

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....

.

Cast

• Lasse Åberg
  Lasse Åberg
  Lars Gunnar Åberg , better known as Lasse Åberg, is a Swedish actor, musician, film director and artist. He was born in the small town Hofors, but grew up in Stockholm...
  
   - Stig-Helmer Olsson
• Jon Skolmen
  Jon Skolmen
  Jon Skolmen is a Norwegian actor and comedian. Between 1963 and 1981, he was employed by the Norwegian state broadcasting company NRK, where he most notably co-wrote and appeared in "The Nor-Way to Broadcasting" alongside Trond Kirkvaag, which won the Golden Rose of Montreux and Chaplin Award at...
  
   - Ole Bramserud
• Lottie Ejebrandt - Maj-Britt Lindberg
• Kim Anderzon
  Kim Anderzon
  Kerstin Kristina Birgitta "Kim" Anderzon is a Swedish actress active in film and theatre. In the early part of her career she was at Pistolteatern...
  
   - Siv Åman
• Ted Åström - Lasse Lundberg
• Weiron Holmberg - Robban Söderberg
• Sven Melander
  Sven Melander
  Sven Alarik Melander is a Swedish journalist, TV show host and actor. He led the Swedish TV show Snacka om nyheter.He was born and raised in Malmö, Skåne, but now lives in Saltsjö-Duvnäs...
  
   - Berra Ohlsson
• Svante Grundberg - Herr Storch
• Eva Örn - Fru Storch
• Roland Jansson - Gösta Angerud
• Magnus Härenstam
  Magnus Härenstam
  Johan Herbert Magnus Härenstam is a Swedish television host, actor and comedian. Härenstam hosted the Swedish version of the game-show Jeopardy! for 14 years before being replaced by Adam Alsing...
  
   - Dr B. A:son Levander
• Gösta Ekman
  Gösta Ekman
  Hans Gösta Gustaf Ekman is a Swedish actor.-Biography:One of Sweden's most appreciated, respected and popular actors; Gösta Ekman started his career in theatre but has also appeared in several Swedish films, including the Jönssonligan series...
  
   (uncredited) - Hotel Maid

Reception

The movie has become a classic in Sweden, though it was not well received by Swedish critics at the time of release. Jan Aghed from Sydsvenska Dagbladet wrote "There are many funny gags in the beginning, and the movie is very funny until the travellers has reached their destination. The movie then goes on very slowly in poor humor and boredom." However, just like Åbergs previous movie Repmånad

Repmånad

Repmånad is a 1979 Swedish comedy film directed by Lasse Åberg. The plot revolves around a group of men called in for refresher exercise in the Swedish army, and who did their national service together some years earlier.-Cast:...

the movie became a box-office success with over 2,5 million people watching the movie, making it the biggest cinema success in Sweden to that date.