The Guilt Trip (2012)

As inventor Andy Brewster is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime, a quick stop at his mom's house turns into an unexpected cross-country voyage with her along for the ride.

Director:

Anne Fletcher

Writer:

Dan Fogelman

Stars:

Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen, Julene Renee

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbra Streisand	...	Joyce Brewster
Seth Rogen	...	Andrew Brewster
Julene Renee	...	K-Mart Receptionist (as Julene Renee-Preciado)
Zabryna Guevara	...	K-Mart Executive
John Funk	...	K-Mart Executive
Robert Curtis Brown	...	K-Mart Executive
Kathy Najimy	...	Gayle
Miriam Margolyes	...	Anita
Rose Abdoo	...	Diana
Tom Virtue	...	Mature Singles Man
Vivian Vanderwerd	...	Mature Singles Woman
Worth Howe	...	Bob
Vicki Goldsmith	...	Young Joyce
Matthew Levinson	...	Toddler Andy
Joseph Levinson	...	Toddler Andy

Storyline

Los Angeles based organic chemist Andrew Brewster has just sunk his life savings into developing and now marketing an environmentally friendly, effective and human safe home cleaning product. Despite these attributes, he is having problems making any sales to distributors and retailers. He has planned a cross country business trip via automobile to make sales pitches to various companies along the way, starting in New York City and ending in Las Vegas. While in New York, Andy plans to stay with his overbearing mother, New Jersey residing Joyce Brewster, with who he has a love/hate relationship and who he does not see very often anymore. He doesn't want to tell her of his sales failures thus far as he knows she will only add more than her two-cents into the matter, which he doesn't want. Joyce's focus of attention is on Andy's single status and what looks to be his stalled romantic life, out of which again he wants her to stay. Widowed when Andy was eight, Joyce has never remarried or ...

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Plot Keywords:

mother son relationship | on the road | trip | cross country | title directed by female | 

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Taglines:

Get ready for one mother of a road trip

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some risque material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Mother's Curse

Filming Locations:

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,290,629 (USA) (21 December 2012)

Gross:

$37,101,011 (USA) (1 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Michaels-Goldwyn

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the movie, Joyce is said to have given birth to Andy while in her 20s. In reality Barbra Streisand is 40 years older than Seth Rogen.

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Goofs

In the first hotel room, Joyce turns off the lamp, and it is clear that she is not actually flipping a practical switch, but making a finger motion to cue the light change.

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Quotes

Joyce Brewster: you want me to go to one of Gayle's miserable singles event? That's what you want? You want me whoring myself out? Put on a thong?
Andrew Brewster: I'm going to sleep now, Ma.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, more is shown of Andy and his mother dealing with each other during the long drive, that is, several of Rogen and Streisand's comic improvisations. The 'mini-screen' moves a few times to make room for the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Life Itself (2014)

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Soundtracks

Wayward Son
Written by Clarence Buzz Chestnut

User Reviews

If Streisand and Rogen Are Your Stars, Do You Really Need a Plot?

Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen are a great comedy team. In fact, the best part of Guilt Trip is when the credits are rolling at the end, and there are several scenes that the two of them apparently improvised during the filming. If the whole movie had been as entertaining as those outtakes, I would have given it a "10."

Unfortunately, the makers of Guilt Trip appear to believe that a movie requires a plot, and sadly, this one was clunky. For a comedy film to work, you either have to completely put reality aside (Blazing Saddles or Rocky Horror Picture Show), or somehow believe an unbelievable story (Airplane or the Blues Brothers). This film didn't fall into either category. The plot just wasn't strong enough to support the premise that any son would be crazy enough to take his mother on a long business trip with him, and there was no reason why he kept bringing her to all his business appointments. And his mother's nutty revealing of her deepest family secret, and her insane baby-naming system, were clearly tossed in just to provide somewhere for this film to go.

Don't get me wrong. I'd really like Streisand and Rogen to do another road trip together. But next time, let's just say that space aliens abducted them and forced them to travel together. And let both of the stars ad lib their way through the adventure. I'd pay to see that one.