The Guilt Trip Review

The Guilt Trip stars Seth Rogen as Andy Brewster, a chemist who is driving cross-country to try to sell his eco-friendly cleaning fluid to different stores. He makes a quick stop at his mom’s house. While at home his long widowed mother Joyce, played by Barbara Streisand, reveals that before meeting his father, she fell in love with a man now living in San Francisco. Out of guilt, Andy asks Joyce to accompany him on his trip. However, his secret mission is to reunite Joyce with her first love.

I love Seth Rogen, but I have not seen much of Streisand’s work aside from her roles in 2004’s Meet the Fockers and 2010’s Little Fockers. I have to say that I enjoyed this road trip comedy and is better than the reviews say it is. I think it has around 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand have excellent chemistry together and they are fun to see together on the big screen. Streisand is perfectly cast as a stereotypical overbearing, yet loveable Jewish mother. Rogen is regulated to a well-mannered straight man and does a good job. The relationship feels real and genuine, which is critical in this type of movie.

The story feels formulaic and it is. The screenplay, written by Dan Fogelman, is underwhelming compared to his previous comedy Crazy Stupid Love. However, the relationship between Rogen and Streisand elevate this material to a decent, road trip comedy. Unlike recent, road trip comedies like Due Date, this film is not mean spirited, overly vulgar, and it has likable characters. It is not the best road trip comedy and the replay value is low, but it is still a sweet movie.

The Guilt Trip - 3.5/5