(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)Aside from her near-cameo appearances in two ensemble comedies, Barbra Streisand has not starred in a movie in sixteen long years, not since 1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces which she also directed. Her output as an actress has been meager since around 1980 when she started directing films, building houses and returning to the concert stage periodically, so it was with both great anticipation and some trepidation that I saw this light-hearted 2012 comedy. What a relief to find she hasn't missed a beat in her sharp comedy timing. I think she's terrific as Joyce Brewster, the energetically overbearing mother of Andy, an organic chemical engineer who long ago moved to California and has recently invented a cleaning solution he is pitching to various store chains headquartered across the country. He plans a weekend visit with Joyce in New Jersey, but upon an intriguing discovery about her past, he invites her on an eight-day cross-country road trip with him.As directed by Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) and written by Dan Fogelman (the underrated Crazy, Stupid, Love) who based his script on his own late mother, the film is about how their two mismatched personalities unsurprisingly clash at every stop as their relationship twists and turns with each new humiliation for Andy and each new revelation for the both of them, a few of them quite poignant. The film is at its comedic best when she and co-star Seth Rogen as Andy volley back and forth with her well-meaning thoughts and antics at odds with his spiky annoyance at anything she says or does. Rogen plays against type as the coiled-up Andy since his stoner-dude personality has been the basis of much of his previous comedy. Here he needs to show some dramatic gravity (as he did earlier this year in Take This Waltz) and again does surprisingly well when necessary. There is a confrontation scene between the two characters that I wish could have gone on a bit longer and deeper than it did, but he manages to bring a real edge to the film in ways I didn't quite expect from him.
Of course there are predictable comedy pieces that also work like a steak-eating contest in Texas where Joyce has to down a fifty-ounce piece of beef in an hour to avoid a $100 tab. There's also quite a supporting cast here, but like Streisand movies of yore, the familiar actors contribute moments that amount to nearly bit parts. Kathy Najimy and Miriam Margolyes are among Joyce's Weight Watchers friends in a quick dinner scene early in the story, while Adam Scott and Ari Graynor show up at the very end of the road trip in San Francisco. In between are appearances by Brett Cullen as a cowboy who becomes smitten with Joyce during the eating contest and Nora Dunn as an officious HSN TV hostess. But that's fine since Rogen really lets Streisand dominate the movie all the way from pushing off potential suitors at a mature singles mixer to getting into the wrong car at a mini-mart pit-stop to getting drunk in a motel bar to sharing her innocently ignorant perceptions of stereotypes. This is only her 19th film since her extraordinary debut in Funny Girl 44 years ago, reason enough to enjoy the warm, accomplished performance she gives here.
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I took my dad to see this movie. A couple years back I lost my mother, coincidentally my mother and I went to see A mirror has two faces the last movie she released where Barbra was the star. In one scene, halfway through the movie an incident happens and it changes the dynamics of this movie. Anyway, I sat there at the end when others were laughing and tears were rolling down my eyes. I can remember similar situations with my mother, I loved her but I'm also a gay male, I wasn't the only child but the distance between my eldest brother and I (I'm the baby) is 10 years. I also was the gay male so I can understand the story plot very well. Would I see it again, I have, this time alone, still cried at the end but it was a good cry. Now don't get me wrong the ending is not sad, but I loved my mother, she was my friend and as we get older they tend to become our friend, just wish I had more time with her. Excellent movie, really!Read Best Reviews of The Guilt Trip (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2012) Here
"Let me tell you something kiddo, you don't have to like me or spend time with me, but as long as I'm your mother you will treat me with respect. Now drink your water before you drop dead from dehydration." Andy Brewster (Rogen) has invented a new cleaner. He is going on a cross-country trip to try and sell it. His first stop is New York...and a visit with his mom (Streisand). When a conversation brings up old stories Andy decides to invite his mom to join him, which he regrets about 5 minutes in. I was looking forward to seeing this because the trailer reminded me of me and my own mom. I will say the movie wasn't as funny as I was hoping but it was still really funny and I do recommend this. Every mother and son should see this together, I saw a lot of similarities between me and mine throughout. Some lines I'm sure we have said over and over. The cast is perfect and Rogen and Streisand actually seem related. The end got a little sappy but overall this is a very funny movie. Overall, funny but I was also hoping for funnier. I do recommend seeing this though. I give it a B.Want The Guilt Trip (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2012) Discount?
This was a good movie. Not as funny as advertised but a decent story and Barbara Streisand is always great.Save 68% Off
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