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Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand star in 'The Guilt Trip'

( PG-13 ) ( Monitor Movie Guide )

In 'The Guilt Trip,' there's little chemistry between Rogen and Streisand and most of the material falls flat.

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Sam Emerson/Paramount Pictures/AP
Seth Rogen (l.) and Barbra Streisand (r.) star in 'The Guilt Trip.'
  • By Peter Rainer Film critic

A road movie that mostly takes place in hotel rooms and inside cramped cars, “The Guilt Trip” pairs Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand in the hope, no doubt, that sparks will fly. They don’t. Rogen plays Andy, a chemist attempting to hawk a new miracle cleaner he invented. Setting out on a last-ditch cross-country marketing expedition to wholesalers, he meets up in New Jersey with Streisand’s Joyce, his long-widowed mother. In a fit of sympathy, he invites her to join him on the road despite the fact that the whining never seems to stop between these two.

The jokes mostly fall flat and the dramatic scenes fall even flatter. It’s great to see Streisand in a lead role for a change, but she seems dispirited by the material. As well she should be. Grade: C- (Rated PG-13 for language and some risque material.)

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