The Guilt Trip

source: The Guilt Trip

Review: I didn't really like this movie that much because I didn't find it that funny. I found it very corny and the storyline was pretty straight forward, without much depth. The chemistry between Rogen & Streisand was quite good, but the script was weak and easily forgettable. By the end of the film, I was just glad that the whole journey was over because there was only so much that the director could have done with these characters. There are some parts that are quite emotional, but the film is just so average for actors that are so big I the movie world. Disappointing! Round-Up: It seems like Seth Rogen is trying a different avenue in his career with this movie, but he still uses his wit in some parts. Streisand only comes out of the woodwork every now and again, but she should have let this movie pass. The film won't damage any of the actors careers, but they won't be remembered for it. Although its about a mother and sons relationship, it did seem more like a chick flick to me, which isn't all bad because they always make money. Budget: $40million Worldwide Gross: $41million I recommend this movie to people who there soppy comedy dramas about a mother and sons close relationship. 3/10

All I can say is ....get ready for another "BARBRA STREISAND BLOCKBUSTER SMASH HIT!!!!! "The Guilt Trip" is absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!!!! You will laugh out loud, cry real tears, and just be bowled over by the AMAZING talent of Barbra Streisand, who is without a doubt, the GREATEST actress of all time! It is SO GREAT seeing her back on the big screen! She looks absolutely GORGEOUS and her chemistry with Seth Rogen is terrific, as he is GREAT as well! Barbra Streisand can say MORE with just one expression than other actors and actresses can say with a whole script! You FEEL her EVERY emotion and she is SOOOO hilarious, SOOOO charming and SOOOO ADORABLE in this movie, she will just blow you away!!!!!! I was BEYOND THRILLED to be able to see this movie early at a screening, and as of yesterday, I'll be LIVING in the movie theaters seeing it over and over and OVER with EVERY PERSON I know!!! Barbra Streisand proves yet again, that she is THE GREATEST STAR EVER!!!!!!!!!! Do not miss this PHENOMENAL Oscar-worthy Barbra Streisand performance! "The Guilt Trip" will definitely make your holidays bright!!!! Robin Lipman Coral Springs, Florida

This is one of those films where I really don't have a lot to say. Basically the film is about a mother and son on a road trip to try and sell a newly invented product. There were no surprises to be had in this film and it turned out to be pretty corny, although I do think that there is a demographic that will enjoy it. Barbara Streisand (Joyce Brewster) is the over-bearing mother who totally dotes on her son. If I had a mother like her, she would absolutely drive me crazy. There were times during the film that I just kept thinking to myself, I wish she would just shut up. I am not sure if this was a tough script for Barbara to learn, but I do know that there was a lot of it. There is one scene in the film that involves Barbara that is just so absurd and really unbelievable that it had me shaking my head. Seth Rogan (Andrew Brewster) was the typical son that is generally embarrassed by his mother's behavior. He did have some funny moments, but not enough to make me laugh out loud (although there were other folks in the audience that did). Most of the parts that did get a chuckle were in the trailer, so there was really nothing new to laugh at. I just felt like I was watching reality television about a Jewish mother and son on vacation. I do have to say that I think Barbara and Seth both nailed their characters pretty well, I just don't think that they had a whole lot of depth to them. There really aren't any other roles to talk about since the other actors were only on screen for a few minutes. The only other actor that I really recognized was Kathy Najimy (Gayle) who was one of Barbara's friends in the film. I have to say that I do support female directors whenever possible, but I think that choreographer turned director, Anne Fletcher is probably better at putting together dance numbers then directing. I don't want to be too hard on her since this film is her directing debut, so hopefully she will get better at it. I didn't hate the film and like I said before there is definitely a demographic for it. All that being said, I am giving this film an amber light.

Here's a soft fluff movie for the Holidays. Someone thought it would be funny to put Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand in a small car. They were wrong. This mostly sit in the car or motel room and talk comedy drags along and feels much longer then it's 96 minutes running time. Get help from a *, eat a big steak, listen to a book on tape, equals nothing new or fresh. The most interesting information was how major companies see new vendors. Kmart Orchard and Costco all have cameos. Little happens until Rogen drinks the product in the HSN pitch. Then the movie gets a little life. There a sweat twist at the end and some good stuff over the end credits. The big problem is the script needed more work. It fails the number one test of a comedy, it doesn't deliver enough laughs

¨If all the kids in the world were lined up and I was to pick one kid for myself Andy, it will always be you.¨ The Guilt Trip had several things going for it considering it was directed by Anne Fletcher who in my opinion has made some decent films like The Proposal, 27 Dresses, and Step Up. They may not have received a lot of love from the critics, but I appreciated those films, and especially liked The Proposal. The script was written by Dan Fogelman, who in 2011 wrote Crazy Stupid Love, a movie which was in my top 20 films of the year list. And to top it all off the film was teaming up the always hilarious Seth Rogen with the beloved Barba Streisand. Despite being really famous, Streisand hasn't made many films recently so fans were really looking forward to this film. I was very disappointed with The Guilt Trip because it was pretty predictable and plain. This road trip movie between a mother and a son won't appeal to a broad audience, especially considering that Rogen plays a much more serious and restrained role than he usually does. I can only imagine an older target audience enjoying this film, and Streisand fans will be pleased. She gives a strong performance, and Rogen does a decent job as well, but in my opinion the script was just too weak and it really hurt the movie. This is one of those movies that everyone will forget about by the end of the month. Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen), has just invented a safe cleaning product, but is having a lot of issues trying to pitch it to important sales companies. He may have invented an innovative product, but he really doesn't know how to market it. His mother, Joyce (Barbra Streisand), constantly calls him and tries to keep up with him although he gets a little annoyed by her involvement in his life. When he discovers that his widowed mother had a past lover he decides it would be a good idea to hook her up with him in order to get her less involved in his own life. He doesn't tell her this of course, but brings up the idea that they should take an 8 day road trip together across the United States while he meets up with different companies to sell his product. Along the way they experience new things and meet some interesting people. The Guilt Trip isn't a laugh out loud comedy, instead it tried to be a more serious and dramatic film building on a mother and son relationship. It has its touching moments, but for the most part the film is very predictable and seems to be heading nowhere. A more mature audience might enjoy this film, but it is being pitched as a comedy which it really isn't. Don't get me wrong, the film has several funny moments, but it isn't your typical buddy comedy. Streisand and Rogen give strong performances, but it's not enough to save the film. I prefer Rogen when he plays his usual wacky character, but here he still manages to deliver a credible performance and has great chemistry with Streisand. At the end the film is about these two people trying to connect with each other and build on their relationship. As usual a road trip seems to be the best way for these two people to get over their differences and fix their problems. This could have been a much better film if the script was better, but I was disappointed. Don't go see this film unless you are a Barbra Streisand fan http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

When I first saw previews for "The Guilt Trip", I actually got pretty excited for it. I usually enjoy road trip movies when they're done well, and I thought the concept of an overbearing Jewish Mother embarrassing her son throughout had the potential to be very humorous and relatable, especially with Rogen and Streisand in the very appropriate roles. I found the preview to be very funny too. Unfortunately, they pretty much used up most of the funny moments in the preview- it's not actually that spot-on witty for the whole hour and a half. The main problem with the movie, despite it's potential, is it's very flat and underwhelming. The dynamic of Rogen being annoyed by his nagging mother Streisand is established in the very beginning, and is just repeated and repeated for an hour and a half with little to no progression for nearly the whole film. The road trip scenes are all under 10 minutes long, with Rogen and Streisand moving from place to place, with no extended interaction with characters or people in these brief settings- and as a result nothing really spectacularly funny, interesting or memorable happens. Like for example, in a roughly 3-5 minute scene where Rogen's car breaks down and they go to a strip club, despite the potential- there is hardly anything that happens. There is a somewhat humorous awkward discussion of Rogen's Penis in public for a short bit, and then a couple minutes later a * fixes their car and they are off. They could have done so much more with that situation! True the movie is definitely not an outrageous gross out comedy, which is fine, I actually respected it for that- but it almost feels TOO low key, like more situations should be arising for what the concept calls for. Even Rogen, despite playing the character of Andy well, lacks his typical ad-lib/pop culture/stoner insight banter that you would see in any Apatow endeavor. I was looking for some more "Rogen rants" towards his mother, but his role was surprisingly restrained and serious. Sometimes the dynamic does kind of work into funny moments, such as many of Rogen's lines and reactions to Barbara- some of their smaller interactions reminded how I act with my own parents and were relatable. There is also a sweet sincerity to the movie, despite the flatness of the actual plot you do feel some care for the characters. There is a scene where Rogen walks in on Streisand fallen asleep to baby videos, where she tells him how much she loves him and he means to her. It is actually really touching, you almost feel sorry for Streisand. Despite her nagging attitude you can see she is a very caring and loving mother who means well. With sincere performances and such potential, you really get the feel at the end of the movie they should have pushed it further. It's a movie that definitely has heart, some humor, and potential, but really ends up unsatisfying. It's a bit of a shame. Not a terrible movie to watch with your mother on netflix, but definitely not worth the money or theater trip in my opinion.

"You want to drive cross-country in a car with me?" Joyce Brewster (Barbra Streisand) Trust me –you don't want to take this trip. The problem with The Guilt Trip is that most of the lame comedy takes place in a subcompact car with two not very interesting characters, a Jewish mother, Joyce (Streisand), and her son, Andrew (Seth Rogen). You will want to get out as soon as you can, and you will feel guilt for wasting 95 minutes. Not that more of that clichéd Jewish guilt wouldn't have been welcomed after the first act's slow setup (Andy asking mom to join him on a trip out West). Not even those stops along the way would relieve your boredom, given the pedestrian set pieces in a strip bar, a steak house, and a casino, among other seemingly random choices except that inventor Andrew visits those cities to hawk his edible cleaning product. You can amuse yourself by counting the number of product placements ("They know me at The Gap!"), some from K Mart, Costco, Budget Rental Cars, and other businesses. For those companies, their products come off very well from Andrew's tepid pitch. Only when he finds his selling voice, does the film come alive and Rogen awakens from a sleepy first hour for him. Making comedies is a Las Vegas gamble: Witness the uneven but far more amusing This is 40, a Judd Apatow production that at least tries to be witty about social issues for aging youngsters. The Guilt Trip tries one bit—the overbearing Jewish mother and wimpy son—and doesn't get it right (Whatever happened to that Oriental girl?"). Now I'm feeling guilty.

I cannot understand why this movie is being so lambasted, I laughed and cried, the acting was so true to life, I saw my own mother in this and also myself, it is a rare treat to have an honest movie with real characters and a real sense of heart, Go see and ignore the bad reviews, Ms Streisand gave a very real performance and I am surprised she was not nominated for a Golden Globe, she should have been. If you pay attention you would notice the subtleties in her expressions. I can honestly say that the end had me sobbing. I never saw it coming. OK so maybe I am old fashioned but it was a real treat to be so involved in a movie, OK so it is not a major blockbuster, but not everyone wants to see special effects and science fiction.

Here are a few lessons that nobody learned folks: 1) What's Up Doc, For Pete's Sake were commercially successful Streisand comedies that had a host of wacky character actors bouncing off Barbra's leading lady performance. Bogdonavich especially knew what he was doing. Even in musicals, Barbra was criticized for being too sane as Dolly Levi. Didn't bother me, but she always bases her characters in reality. Todays critics and audiences seem to want their comedies and characters over the top. 2) Several critics have complained about seeing the diva brought down to earth. Barbra did that before in the commercially unsuccessful, Up the Sandbox. That film has aged well and I suspect this one will too. 3) Whose brilliant idea was it to have Barbra talk freely after a screening of the movie for critics where she could carry on like she was Liz Taylor forcing them to move Vegas to Paris for The Only Game In Town? Yes, in this respect Barbra is a diva and she should have been protected by the studio in more carefully scripted publicity events because I believe that some of these comments have caused a backlash. 4) Greed. Someone thought this would clean up at Christmas. But it is the wrong time for this film. It cried out for a Mother's Day opening. 5) The elephant in the room is the Jewish leads. There is tremendous antisemitism in this country now. Neil Simon flopped on Broadway several seasons ago. That audience is just not what it used to be. The many anti-semitic posts on the internet about this film have sounded more 1942 than 2012. Scary. The Guilt Trip is a sweet story with humorous and touching moments. Barbra gives a lovely performance. I hope it finds its true audience.