Culture

Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand are the producers and stars of this heart-warming, yet not-so-funny, comedy. The Guilt Trip follows a mother, Joyce (Streisand) and her son, Andy (Rogen) as they embark on a cross-country road trip, attempting to sell Andy’s cleaning product creation to major buyers. Andy is relentlessly aggravated by his stereotypical Jewish mother, but brings her along for the journey when he learns of her long-lost love on the other side of America. Throughout the trip, the mother-son bond grows and Andy comes to realise that they have more in common than he thought and that his mother’s advice might be just what he needs.

Streisand and Rogen are extremely convincing as mother and son and it is a sweet story of how the son realises how unshakeable his mother’s love is. At the same time, Joyce learns to let go a little and even faces the possibility of a future romance in her own life.

Knowing how funny both of these actors can be, the lack of comedy throughout was rather disappointing. Nothing in the movie is wonderfully original, except for Streisand downing a huge Texan steak in a meat-eating contest and Rogen not being full of laughs – similar to his other roles, he is meant to be the awkward, fat and funny guy, but here failed on the “funny”.

If you are a Streisand fan, like me, then it is worth a watch as she takes on the main role throughout. However, if it is Seth you are going to see, then you might be disappointed by the lack of funny banter from him as he plays a more subdued role.

The Guilt Trip has a touching Rogen-Streisand chemistry which makes up for the lack of laughs, but give the cinema trip a miss and instead watch it with mum next time you see her.

2.5/5