The Guilt Trip

1.5/4

Starring: Seth Rogen, Barbara Streisand

Rated PG-13 for Language and Some Risque Humor

"The Guilt Trip" is really two movies in one: an cringe-inducing comedy and a moderately effective comedy-drama.  The last act is decent enough, but definitely not worth sitting through the first hour to get to.

Andy Brewster (Rogen) is a young chemist who has a brilliant idea for a new cleaner he calls Scioclean (as in science + clean...ho ho ho).  Because his mother Joyce (Streisand) is lonely, he invites her to join him on a trip to sell his product.  It's a decision he's going to regret.

The nagging, neurotic mother is a stereotype frequently associated with Jewish women, but frankly, they're found across all faiths.  Everyone's mother nags them about this, that and the other thing (mine does).  That's their job.  Handled correctly, it could be the basis of a hilarious comedy.  Unfortunately, director Anne Fletcher does nothing with it and Streisand is so annoying that after 10 minutes I wished that Andy would have left her at home with duct tape over her mouth.

Streisand is horrible, but she's not the only problem.  Joyce is a caricature, which is especially surprising since the screenwriter, Dan Fogelman, wrote one of 2011's best films, "Crazy Stupid Love."  Andy is meant to be the straight man to her "comedy," but Rogen looks like he'd rather be anywhere else (one hopes that the pay was good).  The jokes aren't funny, and Joyce is an annoying harpy who never shuts up.  A half hour into this film, I wanted to scream, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The film picks up after Andy and Joyce have their obligatory "fight" where he tells her how annoying she really is.  Joyce's neuroses settle down and we get a chance to absorb the silence and the lack of her screeching.  It also gives the Streisand and Rogen a chance to act, which they are both capable of doing.  It was at the end that I got a little invested in Joyce's romantic past because she has stopped being such a shrew.  It's too little, too late, as the saying goes.

I admit to grinning a few times and chuckling out loud once (despite everything), but really, this trip is one you definitely do not want to take.  If you're looking for a road trip comedy featuring products no one cares about, just put in "Tommy Boy."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a...
Read more

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing...
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mothe...
Read more