Movie Review: The Guilt Trip

The Movie:

Guilt Trip starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand.

Directed by Anne Fletcher

Release Date: December 19th.

Official Movie Synopsis: 

As inventor Andy Brewster is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime, a quick stop at his mom's house turns into an unexpected cross-country voyage with her along for the ride.

What to expect:

If you’ve seen any comedy movie starring Seth Rogen, or caught Barbra Streisand in Meet the Fockers, then you know that they both deliver big laughs with nonchalant dialogue. This movie is filled with quick one liners, sarcasm, wit. The movie plays out like most road trip movies do, minus the copious amounts of sex, it is a mother/son trip after all, though there is a strip club scene.

Negatives:

The movie gets off to a slow start as they slowly build a bit of background behind the characters and lead up to explain why this road trip is taking place. The first twenty minutes will have you anxiously wondering if the movie is going to get funnier or remain stale.

Positives:

The Guilt Trip delivers a few breaks from the comedy to develop emotional connections with the characters, allowing you to wind down from a stretch of comedy and invest in the characters before jumping back in to the laughs. The movie has it’s “feel good” moments, peppered with serious moments and filled with laughter.

My Thoughts:

If you like the comedy genre (and really, who doesn’t?) and don’t only get your kicks from shock comedy and crudeness, then this movie should keep you entertained. It’s suitable for all ages, and could easily be a good date movie, or something you can bring your parents to and not have to explain every pop culture reference that’s made. It’s worth seeing in theaters, but it wouldn’t make a bad watch at home movie either.

On a mostly unrelated note:

Before the movie my friend and I discussed Barbra Streisand, who one of us (still unsure who it was) mistakenly called Bette Midler. This got us to start trying to differentiate which was which.

“Streisand was in Hocus Pocus”

“No that was Midler”

“Who was Ben Stiller’s mom in the Focker movies?”

“That was Streisand”

“Then what does Bette Midler look like?!”

To some people this may seem ludicrous, but I think it’s a legit mistake...