Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand check in this holiday season with ‘The Guilt Trip.’
If you laid out the Freudian issues in Anne Fletcher’s “The Guilt Trip†end to end, they would probably stretch all the way to Vienna. This is one seriously uncomfortable movie, especially considering that it’s being presented as a feel-good comedy.
As anyone who’s followed their recent press tour knows, Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen make a pretty cute team. And their mutual affinity goes a long way toward lightening a tough trip.
Rogen plays Andrew, a scientist who’s poured his life savings into creating a new organic cleanser. After stopping to visit his widowed mom, Joyce (Streisand), he plans to drive cross-country to pitch his product. At Joyce’s house, he realizes she’s as lonely as he is, and impulsively invites her along.
Dan Fogelman’s script doesn’t take us anywhere especially exciting, veering off-road for dull pit stops and meandering pointlessly in the car. The trip, therefore, goes exactly as we’d expect: Joyce nags Andrew incessantly, meddles in his life outrageously and drives him absolutely nuts. But she also has some good insights, and clearly adores him.
Fletcher (“The Proposalâ€) favors a broad sensibility as well. But her stars, bless them, know better.
As written, Andrew is a sad-sack doormat who desperately needs to establish some boundaries. Somehow Rogen manages to turn him into a respectful son whose remarkable levels of patience are borne as much of love as a desire to keep the peace.
Streisand has an even tougher job. Joyce could so easily have been a shrill, clichéd caricature. Instead, she locates the affection in this woman’s neuroses, rather than lazily exaggerating them for comic effect.
She and Rogen understand each other, and we can see the fondness between them. But it’s hard to understand why they chose such a lackluster project â€" especially Streisand, who so rarely accepts leading roles.
While the actors are appealing, their weirdly co-dependent characters aren’t. And they don’t learn enough to balance out the bland, intermittently irritating nature of their adventures.
Viewers, however, can take the movie’s lesson to heart while planning their own holiday trips: The only thing more crucial than choosing the right company is planning the proper route.
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