Mommy issues
Two unlikely actors join forces on a trip of a lifetime
The Guilt Trip (2012)
Certified: 16
Duration: 95 minutes
Director: Anne Fletcher
Starring: Seth Rogen, Barbra Streisand, Brett Cullen, Adam Scott, Ari Graynor, Casey Wilson, Colin Hanks, Yvonne Strahovski, Jeff Kober, Miriam Margolyes
KRS release
The teaming together of Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand is an incongruous one that carries itself well for two reasons: one is that Rogen notches down his over-the-top usual zany performance while Streisand delivers a classy performance.
The laughs are not as edgy and risqué as they could have been whenever Rogen is involved
Directed by Anne Fletcher of 27 Dresses fame and scripted by Dan Fogelman of Crazy Stupid Love, the film bases itself on this pairing and brings the two polar opposite actors a gust of freshness, warmth and smiles.
Rogen is Andy, an organic chemist who is based in Los Angeles. He has a cleaning product that he wants to promote but is facing many problems, the first of which is the product’s name – Scioclean –which does not work. Thus he goes on a week-long trip, trying to sell his product to wholesalers around the country.
His starting point is New Jersey, his birth place, and while there, he pays a visit to his mother as well. Andy is vociferous, to say the least, but his mother is even more so.
Streisand’s role as widow Joyce is the composite of many mothers who have graced the cinematic screen. She loves her son, shares a lot and is a major influence on Andy... but makes him neurotic!
Despite all this, at one point Andy feels sorry for his mother and invites her to join him on his trip.
The film seeks to be a comedy, but laughter is not its main focus.
You will laugh but the actual enjoyment here lies in being in the company of these two actors.
The journey is filled with shenanigans that are never carried in an over-the-top fashion: sheltering in a strip club from the storm is a hoot while a steak-eating competition has its own neat twists.
All this is carried forward by the fact that the main couple enjoy good chemistry and are feasible as a mother-son team.
The Guilt Trip follows the template of the road movie faithfully and ends off in the expected warm manner. This could not have been otherwise. The laughs are not as edgy and risqué as they could have been whenever Rogen is involved. Instead these are smiles that are more heart-warming in nature.
Streisand has pulled off many a supporting part, but it has not been since 1996’s The Mirror Has Two Faces that she has had a starring role. The film centres mostly on her performance and she carries it off well. She is classy and The Guilt Trip is first and foremost aimed at her fans who will enjoy seeing her back in such top form.
Rogen never overplays his hand and delivers a more mature performance than usual.