Movie review: Guilt Trip

Guilt Trip

DIRECTOR: Anne Fletcher

CAST: Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen

CLASSIFICATION: 13 ML

RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes

RATING: ****

Barbra Streisand, pictured below, takes the wheel on this guilt trip. What does a woman who has won multiple Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and a Tony award do after such a rare collective achievement? Whatever tickles her fancy. Barbra Streisand’s funny bone seems to be most tickled in the past few years.

Not only has she been a Focker in the sequel to the Meet the Parents film, but now, she’s in a new comedy. In Guilt Trip, she isn’t forced to carry a toilet-humour driven surname. Thank goodness. Here, she is Joyce Brewster, the widowed mother of a smart inventor, Andy, who is played by Seth Rogen.

Joyce, whose choice of dress code is velour tracksuits on any given day, is the typical overbearing mother who wants to know that her son is drinking enough water and meeting women who will bring Joyce that much closer to being a grandmother. Andy is a typical chubby 30-something who is single and annoyed by his talkative mother’s persistent questions about his romantic life.

Their relationship is endearing. Andy visits his mother en route to a few cities for a mini tour of meetings with prospective big brand buyers of his invention – a cleaning product.

After Joyce shares her feelings about a long-lost first love, Andy, who feels sorry about his mother’s lonely state since his father died many years ago, decides it would be a good idea for his mother to join him on this business road trip and plans a surprise for her for the end.

But will they make it that far before they kill each other? This funny comedy puts the spotlight on the dynamics between a parent and their adult child. The shunned mom and the son who is embarrassed by his mom’s frankness. The coupon-carrying mother and the son who wants to save face. It’s a feel-good movie and at its core, Guilt Trip is about family bonds. Babs shines bright in this role and Rogen is reined in for a performance that makes for great acting chemistry.

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