Geek Girl Features

In recent years, Hollywood has left the classic comedy plotlines to gather dust, in a rush to discover new avenues of entertaining audiences. In some cases, the old needs to be brushed off to remind people of true comedy and meaningful plots.

One of the most recent movies to play the road trip theme is “Due Date.” That movie, with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, has the audiences rolling with every ridiculous turn in the pair’s trip.

“The Guilt Trip” does not.

Andy Brewster is an inventor trying to get his new invention on the market. To do this he plans a cross country tour of all the major outlets, to sell his product. When he visits his now single mother Joyce at home, he has secrets revealed to him about his mother’s past. After some digging into the story, Andy invites his mother to go with him on his trip, now with an ulterior motive.

As the mother-son duo progresses cross country, audiences may find themselves laughing at the similarities to their own parent-child relationships. Streisand plays the overly concerned mother with more than one opinion for every situation, and Rogen is the put upon son, trying to make it big and avoid talking about his failed love life with his mother.

For the middle of the movie, it is forgotten the true reason why Andy invited his mother on the trip, leaving the pair to snipe at each other in typical mother-son fashion. Only when they reach, and hash out their problems, is the reason brought back to life.

The two standout moments on this trip are when Joyce consumes a 50-ounce steak and manages to snare a cowboy while at it, and when Andy finally takes his mother’s advice to heart when selling his product.

The movie is fairly short by today’s standards, clocking in at only 95 minutes. The movie is by no means slow paced, and the changing destinations help move the movie along.

One aspect of the film found most heartening was the lack of nudity, drug references and sexual content. This movie is a clean, heartfelt mother-son film that all ages can enjoy, and that Hollywood should be making more of.