Guilt Trip (2012)

This is a movie that is better when you think about it than when you watch it.  The script is crisply written and delivered in a manner that demonstrates good timing, if not a lot of comedy--especially Seth Rogan.  He is an impressive actor who is still looking for the perfect vehicle for his brand of talent.  But it is a little painful to watch.

Here is the deal--Andy Brewster is a talented organic chemist who has developed a revolutionary new cleaning agent that is 100% organic, extremely effective, entirely made of renewable resources, and safe.  What he lacks is any idea of how to market it--he gives it an unpronounceable name and packages it in the most uninspiring packaging imaginable.  Not to mention that he his sales pitch would put kindergarteners to sleep. 

He is about to embark on a cross country trip to find a buyer for his fabulous product.  He stops in at his mother's place.  His mother (played by Barbara Streisand, who looks remarkable for 71--it is not just the plastic surgery--she moves like a much younger woman) has a second sense about how to sell things, but he absolutely will not listen to her.  They are conflict laden from the out set,  he invites his mother to join him on the road trip, you can see it will be a disaster from start to finish.  His reasons stem from the best of intentions, but he and his mother are both ill-prepared to spend time together--the reason is that they really have not developed an adult relationship with each other.  She is fawning and he is dismissive, which is irritating to watch.  Over the course of the trip they manage to annoy each other to no end, have a verbal knock down drag out fight about the way they treat each other, and then to start to interact as adults.  That part is the good part, the part that you keep thinking about long after the credits have rolled.