The Guilt Trip (2012)

One of the best films i have seen

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The Guilt Trip (2012): Dir: Anne Fletcher / Cast: Seth Rogen, Barbra Streisand, Brett Cullen, Adam Scott, Ari Graynor: Disappointing road trip comedy about the relationship between a mother and son. Seth Rogen plays Andy Brewster whose enthusiasm for chemistry allowed him to invent a cleaning product that is environmentally safe. He arrives home to his widowed mother who tells him of a past relationship she had before she met his father. Intrigued, Andy looks up this stranger whom he tracks to San Francisco. He invites his mother along for a road trip where he stops at various places in failing attempts to sell his product, but doesn't inform his mother of his real intentions. Despite the presence of its appealing leads the screenplay is a bore from start to finish with bland locations. What nearly saves the film is the joyous presence of Barbra Streisand as Andy's mother who means well but often embarrasses her son in her attempts to be loving. Rogen is also very good as Andy who grows frustrated with his mother's annoyances and his inability to sell a product that works. Problem is that both actors have two distinct audiences and perhaps fans of Rogen's previous films may not jell with the veteran Streisand crowd humour. Supporting roles are flat. Peter Cullen appears briefly to innocently woe Streisand during an eating competition, and Adam Scott plays the son of Streisand's ex lover. Ari Graynor appears all of five minutes just to be lucky enough to work with Streisand. For director Anne Fletcher this is not as guilty as The Proposal thanks to its mother son trip. Score: 4 / 10

I've watched this movie five or more times over the last year. I love the dialog and except for the motel scene where Joyce swears at Andy I loved the whole movie. It's a simple and real story; the movie feels real to me. Joyce is so annoying yet it's an annoyance based on a mother's love for her son. Seth's love for his mother is also clear and that makes this a touching encouraging story. His constant muttering in answer to his mother's neurotic over concern and busybody actions treating her son like a boy is hilarious. Joyce doesn't have a clue how to treat Seth like an adult. His flippant remarks are never mean spirited, besides, you can't help but being driven nuts by Joyce's constant prying. Seth grows up during the hard experience of almost failing to sell his brilliant creation and being broke. When he is finally able to extract the wisdom of Joyce from all her annoying chattering, the light turns on and he appreciates Joyce in a new way. I like a happy ending and the new appreciation Joyce and Andy have for each other and for themselves. Andy succeeds in his dream and Joyce has closure with a 30 year old heartbreak and now they can move forward. As a very ordinary person I can relate to their dreams.

The Guilt Trip is a dramedy that featured Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen,who also were the producers of the film,as a mother and son traveling from New Jersey to San Francisco and acted as an odd pair during the trip.The doting parent but an obviously intrusive mother to her son,who happens to be smart enough to have an Organic Chemistry degree, happens to be annoyed by it but later realizes that her mother isn't wrong about everything during their trip.The movie wasn't well-received by majority of critics.One reason is the fact that it worked primarily at the dramatic aspects instead of the comedic scenes.Despite the fact that Streisand and Rogen have great chemistry,the screenplay was predictable,clichéd,old-fashioned mediocre to a point that it did not capitalize on the talents of the lead stars.Also,it would probably appeal more to the older generation particularly those who are in their 60's rather than majority of the movie-goers.

If you love your mum and want to laugh - this was a really wonderful, heart warming movie! Firstly it was a nice change to have the main characters be a mother and a son. The unusual combo is refreshing and I think makes a interesting plot. I loved both Barbara Streisand & Seth Rogen in this! Great combo together. Both have such a great, natural that makes it easy to laugh with. Also the makers didn't over dramatize situations making them painful to watch as other comedies often do. I laughed out loud several times which is awesome. Plus it was sentimental enough to make me almost shed a tear a couple times (but without getting too mushy).Only criticism is the title.