the guilt trip film review

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The Guilt Trip – review

W hat's the word for a mom-son relationship comedy? An Oedmance? A Freudcom? Well, there's a strange lack of laughs with this one, an all-round shortfall in charm. From the outset, the movie attempts to stake a clumsy and unearned claim on our willingness both to laugh and to shed an indulgent tear. Seth Rogen plays Andy, a single guy who is forever being hassled by his overfond widowed mom, played by Barbra Streisand . Their sub-Woody Allenish relationship is bland and unfunny; the Jewish stereotype is coyly hinted at but never made explicit. Andy is an entrepreneur who has invented a new form of eco-conscious cleaning fluid, and now has to go on the road trying to sell it to various companies. But here is where the very premise of the movie – enshrined in the title – fails to stack up. The idea is that he is "guilt-tripped" into letting his feisty mom come along for the ride. Yet however domineering, she never seems pathetic or lonely or even all that interested in coming along (that sad part of her character naturally has to be delayed until later in the story), so his decision to invite her is basically unconvincing. What we're left with is a bafflingly dull road movie. Maybe Alexander Payne could have done something with this.

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The guilt trip: film review.

Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen star in a mother-son road-trip comedy from director Anne Fletcher ("The Proposal").

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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The Guilt Trip Streisand Cheering - H 2012

Yentl goes yenta in The Guilt Trip , a creakily old-fashioned comedy that forgot to pack the laughs along with the nudging and kvetching. Possibly the first American film in decades in which characters drive cross-country courtesy of process shots out the back window, this mother-son yakfest blows a gasket and all four tires before it even hits the road. With Seth Rogen in very subdued mode, his fans will smell this one a mile away; it might be a movie only their mothers — or die-hard Barbra Streisand fans — could love.

When was the last time an overbearing Jewish mother giving her schlemiel of a son a hard time about not being married was a major component of a big Hollywood film? This sort of routine used to pop up all the time in American comedy but pretty much has vanished in the rearview mirror since the heyday of Ruth Gordon . So to behold Streisand’s New York mom Joyce Brewster hectoring her homely visiting son Andrew (Rogen) about his myriad personal shortcomings is to revisit a musty mind-set that the minor updates in Dan Fogelman ‘s woeful script can’t begin to freshen up.

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The Guilt Trip Reviews

So while this intergenerational road trip has potential, it is wasted. A comedy even your mother might not love.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 11, 2022

A pat, old-fashioned comedy that fails to capitalise on the substantial potential for humour of its leading duo.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 9, 2019

Rogen and Streisand share adequate chemistry but seldom seem like the real deal in Anne Fletcher's fourth movie... Under her direction, Streisand and Rogen look like a pair of actors saying jokes written for them by a comedy think tank.

Full Review | Aug 21, 2018

The whole thing gets duller by the minute.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 17, 2018

A mild and forgettable road comedy.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Jun 29, 2018

A bit 'eww' in that it's essentially a romcom with a mom and son, it's the perfect Mother's Day outing for people who don't like their mums much.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 5, 2017

The script has let Streisand and Rogen down.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 23, 2016

The Guilt Trip struck me something best viewed on an airplane.

Full Review | May 5, 2016

It just cruises along in second gear, being genial.

Full Review | May 3, 2015

The laughs are gentle, of the chuckle rather than laugh-out-loud variety and they're plentiful enough to overlook the episodic sequences.

Full Review | Jun 27, 2014

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | May 2, 2013

Rogen's deadpan misery meshes well with Streisand's oblivious idiocy, making the laughs roll in.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 30, 2013

Contrived and mostly medicore, but may satisfy Streisand fans

Full Review | Mar 28, 2013

It's all kvetch this and kvetch that, with few jokes or amusing encounters ...

Full Review | Mar 10, 2013

It never quite delivers juggernaut-sized laughs, but the sharp-tongued sparring between the two leads pops and fizzes throughout, with Streisand in particular showing she's still an intuitive and naturalistic comedian.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 8, 2013

Streisand has lost little of her gawky, pesky touch in comedy, while Rogen knows just how to be the charmingly daft slob.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 8, 2013

Rogen plays the science nerd Andrew, who has just invented an organic cleaning product and is taking a cross-country trip to find a buyer. In a moment of weakness, he invites his meddling mother Joyce (Streisand).

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 8, 2013

Barbra's speed-yapping makes her mollycoddling mum Joyce even more annoying than she is supposed to be.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 7, 2013

What we're left with is a bafflingly dull road movie. Maybe Alexander Payne could have done something with this.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Mar 7, 2013

It is the makers who should feel guilty.

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By Stephen Holden

Dec. 18, 2012

Contrary to what the title and casting might suggest, the Barbra Streisand-Seth Rogen comedy, “The Guilt Trip,” is not “The Shrew and the Cringing Meatball.” There are no screaming accusations, no threats or recriminations, no tearful apologies in this amiable mother-son road odyssey.

The guilt that Ms. Streisand’s character, Joyce Brewster, lays on her grown son, Andy (Mr. Rogen), a struggling inventor, is larded with enough sweetness and awareness of appropriate boundaries that its humor caresses rather than stings. Joyce’s complaints mostly have to do with Andy’s decision to live 3,000 miles away from her in Los Angeles. When his mother becomes overbearing, Andy, sucking in his lower lip, politely silences her. Joyce, even at her most psychologically invasive, never whines or raises her voice.

Directed by Anne Fletcher (“The Proposal,” “27 Dresses”) from a pallid screenplay by Dan Fogelman (“Crazy, Stupid, Love”), “The Guilt Trip” is so comfy cozy that mothers and their grown children can watch it together without squirming. Even Joyce’s recollection of the time Andy’s penis turned purple is a zany throwaway remark delivered without a trace of Freudian insinuation.

What could have been a cutting satirical farce about domineering mothers and emasculated sons is a mildly funny, feel-good love story in which Mom’s sensible advice helps turn around her nerdy son’s foundering career. Although the main characters are softened Jewish stereotypes, there is no mention of religion.

Andy, who studied organic chemistry at U.C.L.A., is traveling around the country pitching an organic cleaning product he invented that consists of coconut and palm-kernel oils, and soy. You can even drink it. But his presentations are so stiff and jargony that potential backers nod off while he is talking.

When Andy makes a rare visit to see Joyce in New Jersey, he and his mother begin reminiscing. Joyce remembers her first boyfriend before she married Andy’s father, who died when Andy was 8. She has since had no love life.

Andy, sleuthing on the Internet, discovers an unmarried corporate executive living in San Francisco who has the same name as that boyfriend. He invites his mother to join him on his eight-day cross-country return trip without telling her of his plan to look up her first love at the end of the journey. Joyce, not knowing his agenda, jumps at the opportunity to be with her only child for several days.

One bland running joke is Joyce’s obsessive thrift. She insists that they rent a subcompact car instead of an S.U.V., a decision he regrets when they find themselves sandwiched between trucks in an Arkansas blizzard. Joyce also insists that they share the same room in motels and disturbs him with her habit of crunching handfuls of M&Ms while in bed. Since Ms. Streisand , now 70, looks 20 years younger, it is not implausible when one leering motel clerk mistakes them for lovers. But the movie makes little of the confusion.

Joyce is frisky and game for adventure, and in a Lubbock, Tex., steakhouse she agrees to play beat the clock while consuming a 50-ounce steak. This challenge, which could have been milked for farce, is another missed comic opportunity in a movie so timid it seems afraid of its own shadow. The chief pleasures of this mild-mannered dud lie in watching two resourceful comic actors go through their paces like the pros they are.

“The Guilt Trip” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has mild innuendo and some strong language.

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THE GUILT TRIP Review

The Guilt Trip review. Matt reviews Anne Fletcher's The Guilt Trip starring Seth Rogen, Barbara Streisand, Brett Cullen, and Adam Scott.

The most remarkable thing about The Guilt Trip is how it's surprisingly funny despite being undoubtedly safe. Anne Fletcher 's comedy has a straightforward premise and never does anything to make the audience exceedingly uncomfortable. Humor usually rests on the unexpected—if we know the punchline, the joke tends to flop, but The Guilt Trip finds its strength in execution. Thanks to the great chemistry between stars Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand , you may know where The Guilt Trip is headed, but it's still a charming and enjoyable ride.

Andy Brewster (Rogen) is a scientist who has created a safe and organic cleaning product called "Scieoclean" (a name that comes from the horrible amalgamation of the words "science" and "clean"). Unfortunately, Andy is a terrible salesman, and his pitches keep falling flat when he tries to sell his product to major retailers. When visiting with his mother, Joyce (Streisand), he learns his namesake is his mother's former love and while the other Andy isn't his father, young Andy still wants to see if he can provide a reunion for his lonely mother. Andy ambivalently brings his mother along for the rest of his sales trip, which leads to all the awkward moments a Jewish mother can bring to her son.

It's a fakakta scheme, but it works well enough to get the plot moving. Fletcher showed her skill in translating these silly premises into delightful comedy with her previous feature, The Proposal , and she repeats that success here. Once again, we see a mismatched duo put through the paces of episodic comedy. The key difference is that every episode drives Andy further to regret his decision, but just when the movie is about to get angry, it hits a strong emotional beat, and returns to a level of positivity while still maintaining a reasonable obstacle. It's formulaic, but the formula works thanks to Fletcher's sensible direction, and the terrific pairing of Rogen and Streisand.

We know the interactions between the two characters tend rest on Streisand providing a set-up and Rogen's reaction providing the pay-off, but the two actors play the game effortlessly. No one should go so far to say that they feel like a real mother and son, but their relationship feels relatable. Streisand never lets Joyce come off as anything more than misguided, and Andy takes his share of the blame by being too stubborn. They're mismatched, but they're not at odds, and this camaraderie leads to good-hearted laughs throughout. Streisand remains a pro at comedy, and Rogen's reactions are priceless.

The Guilt Trip is as comforting as the bags of peanut M&Ms Joyce enjoys. You shouldn't eat them every meal, and they're not haute cuisine, but they're a nice treat. Fletcher, Rogen, and Streisand have delivered a sweet movie that not only gets laughs from a familiar conflict, but makes you want to spend time with your mother even though you know she'll probably embarrass you.

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The Guilt Trip

Pairing Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen as a neurotic New Jersey mother-son odd couple, then sending the two on a road trip through Texas and the South, Anne Fletcher's "The Guilt Trip" would seem to have uncovered some rarely tapped veins of Oedipal and culture-clash comedy.

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Pairing Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen as a neurotic New Jersey mother-son odd couple, then sending the two on a road trip through Texas and the South, Anne Fletcher ‘s “The Guilt Trip” would seem to have uncovered some rarely tapped veins of Oedipal and culture-clash comedy. Yet the film scarcely bothers to mine them, making for a timid, modestly pleasant time-passer distinguished mostly by its unexplored potential. All the same, the attraction of seeing Streisand in her first non-“Fockers” role in more than a decade, as well as the general dearth of grandma-friendly comedies, should generate healthy holiday weekend business.

Dialing down his zaniness, if not his volume, Rogen plays Andy, a permanently flustered Los Angeles-based organic chemist who’s ready to launch his years-in-the-making invention, a cleaning product whose easily mispronounced name (Scioclean) poses the first of his many problems in pitching it to wholesalers. As a last-ditch marketing ploy, Andy plots a weeklong road trip to hawk his wares at company HQs across the country, starting with his hometown in New Jersey.

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While there, he stops to visit his loquacious, long-widowed mother, Joyce (Streisand). Displaying all the general tendencies of a stereotypical Jewish mother with none of the cultural specifics, the overprotective, oversharing Joyce is allegedly responsible for Andy’s adult neuroses, though we rarely see her venture beyond typical motherly meddling. In any case, Andy whines through the visit until he’s about to head off, when he abruptly finds himself moved by his mother’s loneliness and revelations of a long-ago lost love, and invites her along for the journey.

Perhaps the biggest problem here is that “ The Guilt Trip ” is one of the most homebound road movies in recent memory, mostly alternating between motel rooms and cramped car seats, with little sense of forward momentum. When Dan Fogelman ‘s script does pause to build up a potential setpiece — dropping the twosome into a snowstorm , a steakhouse eating competition or Andy’s ex-girlfriend’s house — it tends to lose its nerve and simply moves on, never nudging its characters far enough past the borders of propriety to generate real laughs. In particular, to include a scene in which Streisand and Rogen are stranded at a strip club for hours, without even attempting a joke at its expense, should be a cinematic crime.

Helmer Anne Fletcher (“The Proposal,” “27 Dresses”) does achieve some genuine moments of warmth, and Streisand is consistently adorable in her tastefully dowdy duds, conveying the requisite amount of Babsiness without getting too fabulous for the character. Rogen, for his part, never quite finds the right rhythm for Andy, and often veers toward one-note irritation, although his disastrous pitch meetings eventually allow him the freedom to unleash his bellowing frustrations. (The film is chockablock with product placements, but these recurring pitch scenes provide some particularly canny, plot-friendly uses, allowing real-life companies — K-Mart, Orchard, Costco, et al. — to decline Andy’s invention by referencing the high standards of the many fine products they already offer. The shamelessness is almost admirable.)

A two-hander through and through, the pic carves out some moderate breathing room for Brett Cullen as a handsome Texan suitor and Kathy Najimy as a Jersey housewife, though most other characters are strictly relegated to scenery. Technical specs are all suitably professional, if never particularly distinguished.

Production: A Paramount release of a Paramount Pictures and Skydance Prods. presentation of a Michaels/Goldwyn production. Produced by Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn, Evan Goldberg. Executive producers, Seth Rogen, Barbra Streisand, Mary McLaglen, Dan Fogelman, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Paul Schwake. Directed by Anne Fletcher. Screenplay, Dan Fogelman.
Crew: Camera (Deluxe color), Oliver Stapleton; editors, Priscilla Nedd Friendly, Dana E. Glauberman; music, Christophe Beck; music supervisor, Buck Damon; production designer, Nelson Coates; costume designer, Danny Glicker; art director, David Lazan; set decorator, Karen O'Hara; sound (Dolby/Datasat), Peter J. Devlin; supervising sound editor, Karen Baker Landers; re-recording mixers, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell; visual effects supervisors, Jamie Dixon, Clark Parkhurst; visual effects, Hammerhead Prods., Lola VFX; assistant director, Joe Camp III; casting, Cathy Sandrich Gelfond, Amanda Mackey. Reviewed at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, Dec. 6, 2012. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 95 MIN.
With: Joyce Brewster - Barbra Streisand Andrew Brewster - Seth Rogen Ben Graw - Brett Cullen Rob - Colin Hanks Andrew Margolis Jr. - Adam Scott Anita - Miriam Margolyes Gayle - Kathy Najimy Amy - Nora Dunn Jessica - Yvonne Strahovski

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The Guilt Trip Review

08 Mar 2013

Guilt Trip, The

Barbra Streisand has proved beyond doubt that she can not only act but has an innate talent for comedy. Her double act with Dustin Hoffman was the best thing about Meet The Fockers by a country mile. And the same could be said about her performance here. But that wouldn’t be saying much. As the classic Jewish mother from hell, thrown into a cross-country road trip with her schlubby inventor son (Seth Rogen), it’s another chance for her to goose her diva image, and one she accepts with relish. Unfortunately, she’s way better than the material and, with Rogen as an uncomfortable straight man, what might have been a guilty pleasure is less of a trip than a chore.

Yvonne Strahovski Discovers All I See Is You

Movies | 09 06 2015

The Guilt Trip (2012)

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The Guilt Trip : The Return of the Funny Lady

Streisand hits the road with Seth Rogen in a charming holiday movie about mothers and sons

When Joyce Brewster ( Barbra Streisand ) and her son Andy (Seth Rogen) set off on an East-West cross country road trip—he to shill the awkwardly named all-natural cleaning product he invented, she to fuss over his dietary and sartorial needs—the first thing she does is put a book on tape in the car’s player. A melodious male voice fills the car (“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan , in August of 1974.”) It’s Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex . Andy’s eyes opened wide in surprise and so did mine; I would have taken Joyce for more of an Anita Shreve type.

The Guilt Trip is not what I expected either. Directed by Anne Fletcher ( The Proposal ) from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, it deals in stereotypes—overbearing Jewish mother, nebbishy son steadily mortified by her—but without the broad, frenetic, desperate comedy of say, Streisand’s most recent ventures into cinema, the lame Meet the Fockers and the truly horrible Little Fockers . It’s a mainstream film but these stock characters are humanized and given a low key, refreshingly reasonable mission: to know and respect each other a little better. Charming and thoughtful, The Guilt Trip is essentially a two-person play, acted by two performers who hail from different worlds—Rogen from pothead humor central, she from diva city—yet who have natural, relaxed chemistry together. They could be related. I’m not sure if Rogen’s Pineapple Express fan base will rush to see it, but if they do, I bet they call their mothers afterward. Regardless, for Streisand, who turned 70 this year and hasn’t taken a lead role in a film since 1996’s The Mirror Has Two Faces , The Guilt Trip is a smart venture back into theaters.

( READ: About Joel Stein’s (short) road trip with Barbra Streisand )

The Guilt Trip works because we all know and like a Joyce Brewster (or dozens of them). Joyce has a big personality but she’s not a cartoon; if anyone is going to make jokes about Jewish mothers, it will be her. She is an outspoken, self-aware woman of a certain age who has discovered the miraculous comfort of track suits. She uses something called a purse hook, which hangs off tables, thereby preventing her purse from touching any dirty floors. She spends a lot of time at The Gap. Her community of friends is built around Weight Watchers. But mostly, she lives for her son—3,000 miles away in Los Angeles but still her focus.

Which is obviously problematic. Andy’s dad died when he was 8, and Joyce hasn’t dated since then. She tells her son she has grown used to the pleasures of solitude. (In the opening scene of the film, Streisand wakes in her rumpled bed, rolls over on one of the previous night’s peanut M&Ms and eats it. It’s a funny little thrill seeing Streisand, this consummate protector of her own image, doing something so very common woman. I felt like I was glimpsing the Pope cleaning his cat’s litter box.) At a meeting of the Montclair Mature Singles Club, Joyce can be overheard saying impatiently—to a perfectly pleasant looking gentleman—“No I don’t hike ! Try the skinny one in the corner.”

( SEE: LIFE photos of the young Barbra Streisand )

Mother and son have no plans to travel together initially. Andy comes East to meet with Kmart representatives, to see if they’ll place an order for Scieoclean, the nontoxic cleaner he dreamed up while working for the EPA. But he’s too self-conscious to make a good salesman, unlike his mother, who can talk to anyone. He’d never dream of asking her to help him on the road (he’s got stops planned at major corporations all across the country). But he gets the idea to bring her along after she tells him about the guy who got away just before she married his dad, the man she would have happily married if he’d asked, whose name she actually passed on to him, her only child. Touched, Andy does something his mother has never done; searches for the man online. Fogelman, who also wrote Crazy, Stupid, Love and Cars, makes a point of how easy this is in our hyper-connected society—it only takes Andy one phone call to find out Joyce’s other Andy lives in San Francisco. Without telling her why, he asks Joyce to join him on the trip.

They have a few adventures along the way, some predictable embarrassment at a strip club and a scene where Joyce takes on a restaurant’s challenge of eating a 50 oz. steak to get her meal for free. “That’s like eating a poodle,” Rogen says, his level, quiet delivery just right. But it’s all pretty mild stuff. That’s because Fogelman’s screenplay—which was inspired by a road trip he took with his mother, who the film is dedicated to—isn’t aimed at raucous laughs. The movie is funny, but it’s main goal is to get mother and son to reconsider each other as individuals. For Joyce, that means letting go of her little boy with potential (“Remember how good you were in Man of La Mancha ?”) and seeing who he is now. For Andy, the challenge is bigger; he’s supposed to be in his late 20s (Rogen himself turned 30 this year), but he’s got a case of arrested development and is nearly as embarrassed by his mother as a teenager might be. Here’s the realism of The Guilt Trip —he has no compunction about letting her know that. The movie’s success is completely dependent on their eventual showdown, which I won’t spoil, except to say that Streisand kills it, with dignity. The funny lady is back. If she wants to be. With Streisand, you never know when she might decide to direct, have another comeback tour, take a part in a movie. Or just stay home.

READ: About what Streisand has planned to do next READ: TIME’s Richard Corliss on Seth Rogen in Green Hornet

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The guilt trip, common sense media reviewers.

Stereotypical mother-son comedy is predictably corny.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie's ultimate message is to honor your

Joyce might be perceived as nagging, but she's

Defending his drunk mom's honor, Andy punches

Andy watches in amusement as a wealthy Texan flirt

One memorable use of "f--k," plus occasi

Since Andy is pitching a cleaning product to vario

Joyce drinks to excess in Texas and then recreatio

Positive Messages

The movie's ultimate message is to honor your parents and not take them for granted. The road trip proves that even when your mom drives you crazy, she's still deserving of respect and usually has your best interests at heart.

Positive Role Models

Joyce might be perceived as nagging, but she's a concerned, loving mother who just wants to help her son and spend as much time with him as possible. Andy is bothered by his mother's constant communication and interest in his everyday life, but he comes around once he's calm enough to see his mother's point of view -- and realize that she's actually got a point sometimes.

Violence & Scariness

Defending his drunk mom's honor, Andy punches a cowboy suitor in the face and then gets punched in the eye in response. Joyce warns Andy not to pick up any hitchhikers, because they "rape."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Andy watches in amusement as a wealthy Texan flirts with his mother and asks whether he can take her out on a date back in New York City. Andy and Joyce discuss how she told him about sex and then what his penis looked like when he was a baby. Joyce plays audiobooks in the car that are a little sexually explicit, but Andy shuts them off once they start getting too racy. Andy and Joyce stop by a strip bar, and viewers can see women dancing in the background.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

One memorable use of "f--k," plus occasional use of "holy s--t," "bulls--t," "goddamn," "oh my God," "ass," "idiotic," "stupid," "hell," "whoring," and more. A son speaks harshly to his mother in one scene, saying "just shut up, shut up, shut up." Joyce refers to one of Andy's ex-girlfriends as "Oriental," but he explains that's "not remotely an acceptable term."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Since Andy is pitching a cleaning product to various companies, viewers see the logos and facilities of various stores, including Ace Hardware, Costco, Kmart, and the Home Shopping Network. The road trip is done in a small Chevy Aveo, and they listen to the audiobook of Oprah's Book Club novel Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Joyce has a nightly routine of eating M&Ms and is obsessed with the Gap. Andy wears a J Crew suit to his meetings.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Joyce drinks to excess in Texas and then recreationally in Las Vegas. Andy drinks in anger after a week of frustration.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Guilt Trip is a mother-son comedy that occasionally includes some mature language, humor, and themes. The strong language is occasional but does include one "f--k" and several uses of "s--t," "ass," "damn," and more. There's some mention of sexuality and dating, as well as a couple of brief instances of Joyce ( Barbra Streisand ) flirting on the road. Because of the nature of Andy's ( Seth Rogen ) job, he visits the headquarters of many real companies, including Ace Hardware, Costco, Home Shopping Network, and Kmart. In one scene, Andy gets into a brief fist fight with a man trying to give his already-drunk mom another drink. Ultimately the movie's message is that mothers and sons may not always get along, but they should love and respect each other unconditionally. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (6)
Kids say (10)

Based on 6 parent reviews

Adult Parentification

What's the story.

Chemist Andy Brewster ( Seth Rogen ) has dumped his entire life savings into developing an all-natural cleanser he hopes to distribute in big box stores. His plan is to visit his mother, Joyce ( Barbra Streisand ), in New Jersey and then take a road trip to pitch his line of organic products to various companies' headquarters. After a heart-to-heart with his long-widowed mom, Andy discovers that her first love was also named Andy; a quick Google search places the man in San Francisco. Andy invites his mom to accompany him on the road trip so he can surprise her by visiting her long-lost love in California. On the cross-country trip, mother and son have several small but meaningful adventures.

Is It Any Good?

This is the kind of blandly entertaining comedy you might stream or catch if it's on TV while you're folding laundry, but unless you're a die-hard Babs fan, The Guilt Trip is far from a must-see. There are some occasionally amusing sequences in this formulaic comedy -- like the bizarre humor of watching Streisand scarf down a four-pound cut of beef at a Texas steak joint, just so her beloved baby boy doesn't have to pay for her entree. And every now and then Rogen's seemingly improvised asides or genuine discomfort at discussing sex with his mother also hit the mark.

But in general, the predictable nature of the plot -- a co-dependent, stereotypical Jewish mother and her reluctant mama's boy hit the road, and each finds out the other can be right some of the time -- is a lot less compelling than the ticket price would demand.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about movies featuring strong mother-and-child story lines. How is the mom in The Guilt Trip a stereotypical nagging mother? How else could the character have been portrayed?

What do Joyce and Andy learn about each other on their trip? How does their relationship change because of it?

Why do you think the filmmaker decided to include real brands in the movie instead of made-up ones? Does it add or take away from the story?

Movie Details

In theaters : December 19, 2012
On DVD or streaming : April 30, 2013
Cast : Barbra Streisand , Seth Rogen , Yvonne Strahovski
Director : Anne Fletcher
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Paramount Pictures
Genre : Comedy
Run time : 95 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : language and some risque material
Last updated : December 29, 2023

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The Guilt Trip

Time Out says

You can imagine the eureka moment: A studio vice president tells his minions that they’ve simply got to capture the three key demographics of 30-year-old stoners, over-40 gay males and sexagenarian moms. Just then, a younger studio executive jumps up from his chair and exclaims, “I’ve got it! We make a road-trip movie about a guy traveling from New Jersey to San Francisco with his overly affectionate, high-maintenance Jewish mother! And it’ll star Barbra Streisand and that lovable schlub from Knocked Up !” The VP begins weeping with joy. High fives are exchanged and designer water bottles are ceremoniously clinked together. Over in the corner, someone starts minting money.

Whether or not The Guilt Trip was conceived this way is, of course, debatable (palm-slapping may not have occurred). But Anne Fletcher’s familial farce leans on its simplistic premise and stunt casting so heavily that such market-research origins are plausible; you’d swear you were actually watching a 95-minute pitch for a mild cross-generational cringe comedy rather the film itself. Once Rogen’s aspiring entrepreneur invites Ma along for a coast-to-coast ride, every sitcomish beat is dutifully hit: She infantilizes him; he mumbles smart-ass comments; uncomfortable sexual situations offer Freudian minefields and beaucoup embarrassment (bring on the mom-and-son strip-club visit), if little comic payoff. What’s surprising is that Rogen and Streisand have a genuinely complementary chemistry, feeding off each other in a way that suggests that, given a halfway decent script, the two would make a better-than-decent screen duo. They should just develop an act and take that on the road.

Follow David Fear on Twitter: @davidlfear

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DVD & Streaming

The Guilt Trip

Content caution.

In Theaters

December 19, 2012
Barbra Streisand as Joyce Brewster; Seth Rogen as Andrew Brewster; Brett Cullen as Ben Graw

Home Release Date

April 30, 2013
Anne Fletcher

Distributor

Paramount Pictures

Movie Review

Sure, we love our parents, but let’s face it: There’s a reason why most of us leave the nest.

Andy Brewster moved out long ago—leaving his widowed mother’s Manhattan-based embrace for sunnier (and quieter) Los Angeles. Not that his mother is ever out of earshot—not with the miracle of cellular technology. She calls in the morning. She calls at night. She calls so frequently that it’s a wonder her ear hasn’t grown around her phone.

Now Andy’s coming back to visit—a stopover on a cross-country business trip. He’ll stay for a couple of nights and speed on his way, having done his filial duty.

Or so he imagines.

Everything goes according to script at first. His mother, Joyce, shows Andy off to her friends and encourages him to drink more water. Andy smiles and nods and grits his teeth. When they ask each other why they’re not involved in serious relationships, Andy’s evasive, Joyce dismissive. “Don’t be disgusting,” she says. And then she tells him a story: Long ago, before Joyce met Andy’s father, she had a fling with a guy in Florida. Things didn’t work out, but her feelings for the man were so strong that she named Andy after him.

That night, Andy looks up Joyce’s old beau on the Internet—and finds that he’s apparently working in San Francisco. Wouldn’t it be great, Andy thinks to himself, for Ma to reconnect with her old flame?

The next morning, Andy asks his mom if she’d like to come with him on his trip. It’ll be fun, he says. But he doesn’t mention that he’s really trying to set her up with a piece of her past. He claims he just wants to spend time with her.

Joyce asks incredulously, “You want to spend a week, in a car, with your mother?”

Andy says—teeth visibly clenching—yes.

Clearly, Joyce didn’t warn Andy enough about the dangers of lying.

Positive Elements

“I was just trying to help,” Joyce says to Andy—her way of apologizing for her latest faux pas.

“You always are,” Andy bitterly says.

Therein lies the heart of this mother-son relationship—in both the best and the worse sense.

Joyce may be a bit overbearing, a bit clingy, a bit (read: very) intrusive. But she’s all those things because of her deep, fierce, motherly love for her boy. As a child, she told Andy he was “the best boy, the most perfect boy in the world,” and even though Andy falls far short of perfection, she still believes it in a way. She wants the best for him. She wants him to be happy. And Joyce will do whatever she can to make that happen.

Thankfully, Andy knows it. Sure, Joyce embarrasses him every time they get out of the car, it seems. He can barely tolerate her constant stream of patter and her curious habits. She literally drives him to drink at one juncture. But he knows where Joyce’s heart is at, and he appreciates it. And in turn, Andy wants what’s best for his mother. And if that means driving cross-country with her to meet an old flame who preceded his own father, well, so be it.

Predictably, the two get on each other’s nerves during their cross-country trek. But they both grow a great deal, too. Andy’s sense of duty turns into renewed, genuine affection for his ma. And Joyce rekindles her sense of adventure: She realizes that Andy doesn’t have to be her whole life. She can still live a little while he’s away from her.

And in the end: “You’re the love of my life, baby,” Mom tells her son. And she means it. “I love you,” he tells her back. And he means it.

Spiritual Elements

God gets thanked, even once or twice genuinely.

Sexual Content

When the two get caught in a snowstorm, they park in front of a strip club. Then they go inside. Scantily clad women writhe around poles in the background as Joyce tells a deeply embarrassed Andy how his father tried to take her to a topless club once. (He said it’d be sexy.) She also wonders aloud whether the fact that she was both mother and father to Andy (Dad died when Andy was 8) might’ve messed him up, sexually speaking. They proceed to have a graphic conversation about his penis. And a stripper asks him if he’d like a “private dance.” (Andy tells her maybe someday, when his mother’s not around.)

Joyce insists on listening to the book Middlesex —a novel with an intersex protagonist—and we hear the reader narrate some racy moments (often abbreviated when an embarrassed Andy turns off the stereo). When an old girlfriend of Andy’s wonders aloud why she gets pregnant so often, her husband says the secret is “two margaritas and Love Actually .” Joyce says she and her former flame were very passionate.

A motel clerk assumes Joyce and Andy are a couple, winking suggestively at Andy. Mom accuses Andy of wanting to “whore” her out. She mentions that her Pilates instructor is a lesbian. We hear references to hitchhikers raping people.

Violent Content

Andy confronts a bar patron who wants to give (an already soused) Joyce another drink. He punches the guy in the face (hurting his hand). The guy punches Andy back. (We see an ugly bruise on Andy’s cheek the next morning.) During the closing credits, a “deleted” scene shows Joyce hitting a pedestrian with a car.

Crude or Profane Language

“Enough with the language, OK?” Joyce tells Andy when he says an s-word in front of her. Alas, it isn’t the last such word we hear. An f-word follows, as do a dozen more s-words. “H‑‑‑” pop up a few times, and God’s name is misused 25 or more times (once or twice with “d‑‑n”). Jesus’ name is abused two or three times.

Actor/producer Seth Rogen’s response to that tally, according to Entertainment Weekly? “This is actually one of the first PG-13 comedies I’ve ever done. So it took me a while to adjust to the fact that I couldn’t say terribly filthy things.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

After a particularly trying day with his mother, Andy drinks heavily in the hotel. “If you’re going to be drinking all that alcohol,” Joyce tells him, “you should really hydrate.” Andy blows up and Joyce leaves the room … heading to a bar, where she downs what appear to be martinis, and getting pretty impaired herself. Wine, beer and cocktails make appearances on other occasions too.

Other Negative Elements

Mom and son treat each other harshly at times. (But when Andy gets particularly out of line, Joyce calls him on it: You don’t have to like me, she says, but I’m your mother and “you will treat me with respect.”) A friend of Joyce’s says she wasn’t particularly sad when her husband died. People mention defecation. Joyce gambles all night when she and Andy stay in Las Vegas—quitting after she’s $60 ahead.

Cross-country treks never seem to go without a hitch or two, and the same could be said of The Guilt Trip itself. The movie smacks several potholes when it comes to language. It swerves dangerously in its graphic sexual discussions. The tone and tenor of Andy’s relationship with his mom can make you feel a little carsick.

And yet The Guilt Trip ends with its tires sinking into the soft sand of the Pacific Coast. And that desirous destination is a rekindling of a loving relationship between mother and son, and a renewed understanding that there’s a big ol’ world out there to explore.

I’ve been on a handful of vacations with my own parents—folks whom I not only love and respect, but really enjoy hanging out with. Sure, there are times when I might roll my eyes at my father’s penchant for singing in the morning or grow a little exasperated by my mother’s meticulous habits. But I know there are things that drive them a little crazy about me, too. And at the end of the day (or, more fairly, at the end of the vacay), I’m struck by what fun we’ve had together—and how much our little ticks and oddities make us all curiously more lovable, not less.

That’s something this film gets right.

But it still doesn’t put it in harmless guilty pleasure territory.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Review: ‘The Guilt Trip’ An Underdeveloped, Clichéd Road Trip Comedy Without Much Gas

Drew taylor.

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There are at least two movies opening this holiday season which seem like they were stolen from the script vault at Touchstone Pictures , circa 1992. The first, “ Parental Guidance ,” features the heavyweight one-two punch of Billy Crystal and Bette Midler , concerns grandparents outwitted by their grandkids, and could play snugly in a double feature alongside “ Father of the Bride Part II .” And opening this week is “ The Guilt Trip ,” another movie that tries to wring guffaws out of a similarly super-tired idea (taking a cross-country road trip with your unbelievably stereotypical and annoying Jewish mother). Sure, the mother is played by Barbra Streisand and that does (admittedly) add some sizzle, but it can’t compensate for how sitcom-y and dated the whole thing is and how, honestly, the movie probably plays better at 1 AM on TBS. Including the commercials.

The outrageously simple set-up follows: Seth Rogen plays Andy Brewster, a scientist and amateur inventor who has developed a new, totally organic cleaning product. He flies out to New Jersey to spend some time with said Jewish mother Joyce (Streisand), before renting a car and hitting a series of appointments across the country. The night before he’s set to leave, his mother tells him a heartbreaking story about the man she loved before his father (who died when Andy was a boy). Andy, curious, uses Bing (which for some reason has become a hot product-placement search engine of late) and sees that this man is still alive and in San Francisco, and promptly adds another stop onto his trip and invites his mother to accompany him.

As far as comedy conceits go, sure, it’s not exactly original, but it’s a concept that could probably hold some promise. The script was written by Dan Fogelman , who, after “ Crazy Stupid Love ” and “ Tangled ,” has become one of Hollywood’s hottest screenwriters, and the film was directed by Anne Fletcher , the choreographer-turned-director who did “ Step Up ” and “ The Proposal .” Under the right circumstances it could be something like a tamer, middle-aged-friendly version of a Todd Phillips road comedy, with mother and son getting into a series of wacky misadventures and begrudgingly learning about each other along the way. Maybe, in a “ Brave “-inspired twist, Babs could get turned into a bear. Now that’d be some solid holiday entertainment.

Instead, “The Guilt Trip” goes down the path most traveled, indulging in a series of well-worn clichés and devoting a minimal amount of time to character development or actual conflict. The middle section of the movie is an endless series of scenes where Seth Rogen rolls his eyes at the outrageousness of his mother and Streisand babbles endlessly, trying desperately to make the wafer-thin script into something (anything) more. But not even the Herculean efforts of a talented warhorse like Streisand can save this thing.

It’s a shame, too, because “The Guilt Trip” isn’t wholly regrettable – there’s a pretty funny running joke about how the two of them are listening to an audio book of “ Middlesex ,” which is both painfully inappropriate and excruciatingly long, and a moment when Streisand comes out of a convenience store and accidently steps into a similarly-colored car is both hilarious and very true to life. But mostly it’s a dull, lifeless missed opportunity.

The road trip format lends itself to some picaresque flourishes, not to mention an opportunity to highlight all the crazy characters and situations you can encounter along the road. But “The Guilt Trip” avoids this almost completely. They stop briefly at Andy’s ex-girlfriend’s house ( Yvonne Strahovski ), where she lives happily with her husband ( Colin Hanks ). In another sequence, they stop off at a honky tonk steak bar and Joyce agrees to take part in a challenge to devour a giant slab of meat. This is sort of a funny idea but we’re not sure why she’s doing it, exactly, because if she eats it all she doesn’t have to pay, but Andy still has to pay for his meal (maybe they both eat for free?) Towards the end of the film Joyce remarks that she had a wonderful time because she ate a really big steak and got her ears pierced. It’s astounding to think that the filmmakers went out of their way to point out just how little actually happens in the movie.

This oversight is even more baffling considering the supporting cast who sometimes just appear for a single line of dialogue. In addition to Strahovski and Hanks, Casey Wilson , Ari Graynor , Adam Scott , Kathy Najimy and Nora Dunn all show up, fleetingly, and are just as quickly forgotten about. It’s mind-boggling, but it plays into how underdeveloped the film is. Andy clearly has some issues with failure, and his cleaning product endeavor isn’t exactly taking off (he bombs every pitch meeting), but this is only given superficial consideration. If more personal details were known about him, then it would add considerable investment in this old Jewish lady version of “ The Odyssey .” (Also, we never see what makes his wonder-product so amazing.)

Overall, there is a fundamental lack of excitement or energy; it’s a 95-minute movie that feels twice as long as “ The Hobbit .” Fletcher doesn’t direct as much as she just happens to there as Streisand and Rogen bicker inside a fake car; her direction could be charitably be described as lethargic. There is a shocking lack of chemistry between the two leads, even though this is Streisand’s big comeback (she hasn’t been the lead in a film since 1996’s Oscar-nominated “ The Mirror Has Two Faces “), and undoubtedly, when Streisand is good, she reaches nearly stratospheric levels of wonder. Here, though, her face surgically smoothed and forced to play a dopey, predictable, underwritten role, she flounders. It makes her supporting performances in the “ Meet the Parents ” sequels seem downright dignified in comparison. And that’s really saying something. [C-]

Movie Review: The Guilt Trip (2012)

Greg Eichelberger
Movie Reviews
3 responses
--> December 20, 2012

The Guilt Trip (2012) by The Critical Movie Critics

Rental cosigner.

Directed by Anne Fletcher (“ The Proposal “), the newest Paramount release The Guilt Trip is a mixed bag — or hodgepodge, if you will — of productions such as “ Tommy Boy ,” “ Broken Flowers ” and any number of road pictures made over the last 60 years. That’s not to say it is a bad movie, indeed it does have its quiet, funnier moments, but it is also sadly predictable and its herky-jerky feel is sometimes difficult to deal with in just a short 95-minute running time.

The best thing about it is — surprisingly — the chemistry between the leads, Academy Award-winning Barbra Streisand (“ Meet the Fockers “) and Seth Rogen (“ 50/50 “). Their moments onscreen together (approximately 98 percent of the time) goes from depressing to hilarious to pathetic to joyful. Like many mothers and sons, they bring out the best and worst in each other, but love still comes through and even though the best intentions are not always realized, at the end of the day, they still have the unbreakable connection of family on their side.

Here, Rogan plays Andrew “Andy” Brewster, an organic chemist who has invented a green cleaning solution made from palm oil, soybeans and coconut. It seems to be a miracle concoction, but it won’t sell itself — he now has to go on the road and plug the product to different corporate entities such as K-Mart, Costco and WalMart. It’s a task easier said than done; Andy, while intelligent, is boring, passionless and lifeless. Andy’s mom Joyce (Streisand), on the other hand, is anything but. She is the stereotypical Jewish mother: Nagging, insensitive, brutally tactless and an interferer in every aspect of his (love) life.

But against all of his instincts, he nonetheless invites her to accompany him on his must succeed, sales road trip from New York to Las Vegas.

Right from the start she influences him to choose a compact car over an SUV. She even reconnects him to an old high school sweetheart, Jessica (Yvonne Strahovski, several TV series, including “ Chuck ” and “ Dexter “), who is now married and pregnant with her second child. The scene is painfully familiar to anyone who lost the love of their life only to see them happier since they moved on.

Naturally, since Andy is a repressed, uptight, condescending know-it-all, and his mother is a happy-go-lucky free spirit, with few social graces, there is going to be major conflict. This arises in a hotel room where the humor turns nasty on a dime and both express an almost seething hatred for one another.

Tension mounting.

These scenes were a bit difficult to take, since we know they have their differences, but the venom and vindictiveness of this conversation even threw this author for a bit of a loop. There are, however, a few lighter moments that get The Guilt Trip back on comedic footing — Joyce tries to eat a 50-oz. steak in Texas to save Andy a $100 tab, she meets a Lone Star hunk, Ben (Brett Cullen, “ Red Dawn ”), and they visit the Grand Canyon in a scene right out of “ National Lampoon’s Vacation ” — before the son finally takes a little of mom’s advice in a last-ditch presentation to the Home Shopping Network.

The real belly laughs of The Guilt Trip come few and far between, while the softer moments shine and the dialogue (provided by screenwriter Dan Fogelman,” Crazy, Stupid Love ”) carry the movie. The pure joy on Streisand’s face when she finally sees her son open up to really sell his product is wonderful, for example.

Some critics are calling The Guilt Trip a “Bad Trip,” but I disagree. Yes, the pacing could have been smoother and the predictability level was a bit high, but for a modern comedy not to have to fall back on nasty, mean, gross-out or bathroom humor is quite refreshing (that is of course until “ This Is 40 ” throws us all back into the toilet again).

Tagged: inventor , mother , road trip

I have been a movie fan for most of my life and a film critic since 1986 (my first published review was for "Platoon"). Since that time I have written for several news and entertainment publications in California, Utah and Idaho. Big fan of the Academy Awards - but wish it would go back to the five-minute dinner it was in May, 1929. A former member of the San Diego Film Critics Society and current co-host of "The Movie Guys," each Sunday afternoon on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego with Kevin Finnerty.

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'Movie Review: The Guilt Trip (2012)' have 3 comments

December 20, 2012 @ 5:09 pm Melydia

Babs as the stereotypical Jewish mother…who didn’t see that coming?

December 20, 2012 @ 6:50 pm ByTheGram

You forgot to mention the best past of the movie: the outtakes during the credits.

December 20, 2012 @ 7:11 pm TheRise

You liked this? Oy vey iz mir.

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The 32 greatest movies that critics hated (and audiences loved)

Critics hate these movies, but audiences can't get enough of them

Professional movie critics and regular moviegoers don't always see eye to eye. Sometimes, however, the disparity is so wide it feels like critics and audiences live on different planets. That's evidenced by these movies that critics hated, but audiences actually loved.

While the art and craft of professional film criticism is, at least in theory, informed by scholarly expertise (including regular exposure to films made outside Hollywood), regular moviegoers can have a different palette for what defines a "good movie." It's not simply that audiences prefer dumber movies, with simpler stories and extravagant explosions. Although that might seem to be the case, the truth is that audiences and critics can simply have different standards.

Thanks to Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore, it's quite easy to see what kind of movies resonate with audiences while leaving critics feeling less than thrilled. Here are 32 legitimately great movies that critics hated but audiences loved.

32. Venom (2018)

Critics were not taken by Venom, but audiences latched onto it like sticky goo. Starring Tom Hardy and directed by Zombieland's Reuben Fleischer, this Marvel-adjacent hit centered on Spider-Man's archenemy from the comic books. A hard-hitting TV journalist, Eddie Brock (Hardy) comes in contact with an alien entity that uses his body as a host. Together, the two fight as Venom to stop an evil tech billionaire from destroying the world. While critics panned Venom – Variety called it "a textbook case of a comic-book film that's unexciting in its ho-hum competence" – it still tongue-wagged its way to a massive $850 million gross worldwide.

31. Harlem Nights (1989)

When Eddie Murphy was at the height of his superstardom, he leveraged his Hollywood clout to bring to life a passion project: Harlem Nights. An homage to 1930s crime noir, Eddie Murphy wrote, directed, and starred in this film about a nightclub owner in 1938 Harlem who struggles to keep his business running in the face of rival gangsters and corrupt cops. Despite the movie's stacked talent including Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, and more, Harlem Nights failed to jazz up critics; both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert panned the movie, dubbing it one of the worst movies of 1989. However, the movie has been embraced by audiences. Today, it maintains a strong 80% approval rating by audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

30. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)

In this satirical comedy, a high school cheerleader - played by Natasha Lyonne - is forced by her parents to attend conversion therapy camp to "cure" her of her budding lesbian sexuality. While audiences today embrace But I'm a Cheerleader as a hilarious and tender portrait of teen queerness, critics who reviewed it upon release were not as welcoming. The Los Angeles Times panned it for having "jaunty, superficial humor," while Variety wrote it off as "shallow." Despite that, But I'm a Cheerleader has its fans rooting from the benches. Retrospective praise includes Curve magazine calling it "incredible" in 2003, while AfterEllen dubbed it "one of the best lesbian movies ever made" in 2015.

29. Transformers (2007)

The summer of 2007 was ruled by two movies: the raunchy R-rated comedy Superbad, and the epic blockbuster Transformers from director Michael Bay. The latter movie, which became the first in a billion-dollar hit series, was dismissed outright by critics as a noisy, senseless CGI extravaganza aimed at teenage boys. (That it was also based on the nostalgic '80s franchise worried critics about the state of originality in cinema.) CNN's Tom Charity wrote Transformers would effortlessly "buzz its youthful demographic" yet "leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower." But where critics saw a clunker, audiences saw a winner, with the movie sitting at a strong 85% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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28. The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)

Based on an unbelievable true story (and adapted from a documentary), The Greatest Beer Run Ever from director Peter Farelly stars Zac Efron as real-life U.S. Marine veteran John "Chickie" Donohue, who in 1967 sailed all the way to Vietnam to deliver beer to his childhood buddies serving overseas. The Greatest Beer Run Ever didn't have critics clinking their glasses - "Commits itself to regurgitating every Vietnam cliche with the laziest possible visual diction, led by an emotionally overextended Zac Efron" wrote Guardian's Charles Bramesco - but audiences have been more than happy to crack open a cold one for Farrelly's film. It boasts a mighty 91% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

27. Man of Steel (2013)

When director Zack Snyder stepped up to reboot Superman's origin story and launch a new shared universe for the DC superheroes, his thunderous efforts were met with a mixed reception. While critics were not universally won over by Snyder's dark vision for the DC Universe - New Yorker's David Denby wrote Man of Steel suffers from "endless declamation, endless violence," and Richard Roeper wrote that "There's very little humor or joy" - Snyder amassed a devoted following who rallied behind him throughout the rest of his tenure in DC, including his 2016 sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and his 2021 version of Justice League.

26. Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Despite the reputation of animation auteur Genndy Tartakovsky, his Hotel Transylvania series - about a hotel for monsters to briefly get away from their obligations scaring humans - have not had critics checking in droves at the front desk. The first film in the series, released in 2012, amassed only a 44% rating by critics on Rotten Tomatoes. (From Empire's Helen O'Hara: "An animation that never drags itself out of mediocrity despite the best efforts of gifted animator Tartakovsky.") But audiences, many of whom likely grew up with the series, are down for Hotel Transylvania's tricks and treats. It keeps a strong 72% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

25. Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

Being a pretty paint-by-numbers romantic comedy, Sweet Home Alabama didn't imparess many critics when it hit theaters in 2002. In a scathing review, Ann Hornaday panned the film in The Washington Post, saying: "Physical charms are no match for the generic predictability of the story." But between the powerhouse that is Reese Witherspoon and endless reruns on cable TV, Sweet Home Alabama has become a true darling among audiences who are won over by its southern charms. Witherspoon plays a New York City fashion designer who returns home to Alabama to finalize her divorce, only to start realizing the one she truly wants might have been with her all along. On Rotten Tomatoes, the aggregate approval score among audiences is a comfortable 78%.

24. Step Up (2006)

Essentially a Saturday Night Fever or Dirty Dancing for the MySpace generation, Step Up stars Channing Tatum (in his first major Hollywood leading man role) as a young man from a troubled background who, ahem, steps up to help a beautiful dance student (Jenna Dewan). Inevitably, the two fall in love. While critics weren't in sync with Step Up - it has a paltry 21% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes - the movie had audiences dancing in their seats. The film not only launched the career of director Anne Fletcher, who later directed other hit comedies like 27 Dresses, The Proposal, and The Guilt Trip, but also the career of Channing Tatum.

23. Playing With Fire (2019)

In this genial family comedy starring John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, and John Leguizamo, three California smokejumpers are legally tasked with watching over three rambunctious children (whom they've rescued from a burning cabin) until child services arrive. Although critics extinguished Playing With Fire - The Observer panned it as "beyond inept" and "contender for the worst movie" of 2019 - audiences have been more drawn to its flames, with a 77% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

22. Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

In this adaptation of the 2018 novel by Delia Owens, Daisy Edgar-Jones plays a resourceful woman named Kya who is deemed a prime suspect in the murder of a prominent North Carolina figure. While Edgar-Jones' performance was praised by critics, the movie as a whole was unpopular among critics. IndieWire's David Ehrlich graded the movie a C+, writing it as "a lot more fun as a hothouse page-turner than it is as a soulful tale of feminine self-sufficiency." However, audiences gravitated to the movie. On CinemaScore, the movie maintains an A- rating by audiences and earned an impressive $144 million at the box office.

21. Bad Boys 2 (2003)

In Michael Bay's sequel to his own 1995 hit action movie, Martin Lawrence and Will Smith reunite as hotshot cops looking to take down an illegal narcotics ring in Miami. Although critics were unfavorable towards Bad Boys 2 - the late, great Roger Ebert gave the movie just one out of four stars, writing negatively of its "needless cruelty" - the movie blew up the box office with a gross of $273 million worldwide. In retrospect, the movie enjoys its appreciators as an example of Michael Bay's maximalist sensibilities getting cranked up to the highest level.

20. The 355 (2022)

In this spy action thriller from Simon Kinberg, Jessica Chastain leads an all-star female ensemble, including Penelope Cruz, Bingbing Fan, Diane Kruger, and Lupita Nyong'o, all of whom play spies uniting to stop terrorists from igniting World War III. Although critics panned it as an uninspired girl-power action flick - The Guardian's Benjamin Lee wrote it off as "generic" and "simply replacing male action heroes with women" that "[stands] back waiting for applause" - The 355 captured audiences in its target sights. The movie enjoys an audience rating of B+ on CinemaScore.

19. Big Daddy (1999)

A star-driven comedy that impressively splits the difference between profane for adults and appropriate for all ages, Adam Sandler plays a 32-year-old slacker who foolishly and illegally adopts a kid (the biological child of his lawyer roommate, played by Jon Stewart, who is unaware of the child's existence) to impress his girlfriend. While critics were unkind to Big Daddy during its release in 1999, including Roger Ebert's painful one-and-a-half star review, audiences love it. Among the movie's biggest fans is acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson, who praised it in a 2018 interview with Slashfilm. (PTA worked with Sandler on the film Punch-Drunk Love, released in 2002.)

18. The Gray Man (2022)

In this dadcore spy action thriller by Marvel directors Joe and Anthony Russo, Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans play enemy CIA agents in an adaptation of Mark Greaney's 2009 novel. With a 44% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Gray Man didn't exactly change the game; Metro UK's Laurshka Ivan-Zadeh had the most succinct takedown of the movie, calling it "A $200,000,000 snooze fest." Still, Netflix touted The Gray Man as a success, being the fifth most-streamed Netflix movie (although the specificity of those metrics are intentionally vague due to Netflix's opacity about its data). The Gray Man enjoys a polarizing 45% critics' rating and a mighty 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

17. Underworld (2003)

The first of many gothic action movies starring Kate Beckinsale in the lead role of stylish werewolf hunter Selene, Underworld didn't inspire many critics to howl at the moon. The film has just a 31% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a particularly nasty review by Roger Ebert who wrote it off as "so paltry in its characters and shallow in its story." Audiences, however, are more down for Beckinsale in black leather hunting lycanthropes. It has a B+ audience rating on CinemaScore, a 79% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a handful of sequels and spin-offs that prove how bankable it is for beautiful movie stars to kick monster butt.

16. Uncharted (2022)

Judging by its cool 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics didn't find the treasure buried deep beneath Uncharted, directed by Ruben Fleischer. But audiences, by comparison, were more swept away by the movie's magical charms, based on their 90% RT score. Tom Holland stars as treasure hunter Nathan Drake, who teams up with grizzled adventurer Sully (Mark Wahlberg) on a quest to find Magellan's gold. While hardcore fans of the original Uncharted games on PlayStation were peeved over how much the movie strayed from the source material, the movie still struck gold at the box office to become one of the highest-grossing video game movies of all time.

15. Argylle (2024)

From Kick-Ass and Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn came Argylle, a bombastic send-up of spy thrillers that audiences seemed to love more than professional critics. In this original production for Apple TV+, a successful novelist (Bryce Dallas Howard) gets swept up in a real-life game of espionage where she learns that the stories in her books are more factual than she believes. While critics disliked the movie's length, tiresome plot twists, and meta-centric narrative - The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw panned it as "unbearably self-satisfied" - other moviegoers were more thrilled, allowing the movie to boast a more assured 72% Rotten Tomatoes audience score.

14. Black Adam (2022)

For all the bravado from Dwayne Johnson that Black Adam would upset the balance of the DC Universe, his 2022 superhero tentpole - about a slave gifted with magical powers who awakens many centuries later - didn't actually electrify the box office. Critics, too, weren't lit up by Johnson's entry into the realm of superhero franchises, with a paltry 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. "Black Adam is what happens when you build a movie from the outside in — when you start with the visuals and figure everything else will just fall into place," wrote Glen Weldon for NPR. But audiences are a bit soft on The Rock. RT's audience ratings for Black Adam is at a mighty 88%.

13. Warcraft (2016)

Warcraft may be unloved by critics who hadn't logged endless hours traversing the virtual lands of Azeroth. But for audiences, it's a whole different game. Based on the popular Warcraft franchise (including the landmark online MMORPG, World of Warcraft), Duncan Jones' Warcraft is a solid epic fantasy that leaps to life through gorgeously-rendered VFX craftsmanship. While critics had a hard time wrapping their heads around it - "Crowded and scattershot," panned The New Yorker - audiences have spent years demanding a sequel. It boasts a B+ from CinemaScore.

12. The Lion King (2019)

Blurring the lines separating animation from live-action, Jon Favreau's star-studded, photorealistic remake of Disney 's seminal 1994 classic The Lion King didn't get many critics roaring in reverence. "This isn't the circle of life; it's more like a creative dead end," wrote Justin Chang for NPR. "It's a lovingly envisioned, lavishly produced, and painstakingly crafted cash grab. And it's not much more than that," echoed Angie Han at Mashable. But audiences were more easily swept away by the movie's technical sophistication and targeted nostalgia, with audience scores being rated "A" at CinemaScore and 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.

11. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

While it's celebrated now as a cult classic, Wet Hot American Summer was in fact a critical and commercial bomb. Despite its stacked cast including Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, Elizabeth Banks, Christopher Meloni, Amy Poehler, and even Bradley Cooper in his film debut, Wet Hot American Summer left critics feeling dry as a bone; it was so bad in the eyes of Roger Ebert, he wrote his scathing review in song. Still, Wet Hot American Summer drew a passionate crowd to make it into a franchise. On Netflix, the movie inspired both a prequel and a sequel series, with virtually everyone in the cast playing younger and older versions of their characters.

10. Hook (1991)

Yes, believe it or not, Steven Spielberg's Hook with Robin Williams was not loved among critics circa '91. On Rotten Tomatoes, only 29% of professional reviews wrote positively of the movie, which tells of an adult Peter Pan who has forgotten all about his magical childhood until he returns to Neverland. "The failure in Hook is its inability to re-imagine the material, to find something new, fresh or urgent to do with the Peter Pan myth," panned Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times. But audiences have loved Hook for generations, from Williams' committed performance to John Williams' score to even Dante Basco as the charismatic rascal Rufio. On CinemaScore, Hook boasts a pixie dust-coated A-.

9. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

When The Super Mario Bros. Movie warped its way into theaters, some critics were hoping to unplug their controllers. With a limp 59% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics were divided over the movie's middling story and safe execution of a well-known video game IP. But The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a box office titan in 2023, being one of the highest-grossing movies of the year alongside Barbie and Oppenheimer. Audiences rated the movie much higher than critics too, with a Goomba-stomping 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

8. Twilight (2008)

Even if hardcore fans of Twilight agree that it isn't a cinematic masterpiece, Catherine Hardwicke's movie adaptation of Stephanie YA best-seller - and the breakout movie for both Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson - still glitters in the sun for anyone who grew up with it. While critics weren't enchanted by the movie's moody story of star-crossed teen lovers, Twilight still launched the careers of its stars and successfully spawned a franchise for Lionsgate . On Rotten Tomatoes, Twilight scored 49% among critics and 72% among audiences.

7. Jurassic World: Dominion

Life, uh, finds a way… to ruin a classic. In 2022, the Jurassic Park/World franchise synthesized into a cross-generation extravaganza, Jurassic World: Dominion, which reunited the cast and characters of 1993's Jurassic Park with the Jurassic World era. The results were cataclysmic, at least to critics who deemed the series extinct. "With Jurassic World: Dominion, it's clear: Colin Trevorrow is the worst thing that's happened to dinosaurs since that asteroid knocked them all into the past tense," wrote Kristy Puchko for Mashable. Still, Jurassic World: Dominion got fans doing the dinosaur, with a 77% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

6. Man on Fire (2004)

In 2004, Tony Scott helmed the second feature film version of A.J. Quinnell's 1980 novel Man on Fire. Scott's version stars Denzel Washington as a troubled ex-CIA turned bodyguard who rampages through Mexico on a mission to rescue a nine-year-old girl (Dakota Fanning). Critics weren't taken hostage by Man on Fire, which the Rotten Tomatoes consensus summary says is due to the movie's exceedingly grim story. But audiences loved Man on Fire, with a strong 89% audience approval rating and an A- grade on CinemaScore.

5. The Thing (1982)

Although John Carpenter's 1982 creature feature The Thing is revered now as a technical and artistic marvel, critics in '82 were ice cold. Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times criticized the movie for being "bereft, despairing, and nihilistic" whilst Starlog's Alan Spencer called it "sterile." Critics weren't alone, as even audiences avoided The Thing at the box office. It wasn't until it hit home video that The Thing found a more devoted audience who shivered at its chilling tale about an alien parasite terrorizing scientists at an Antarctica research facility. Today, The Thing is widely regarded as a classic of 1980s filmmaking.

4. Tommy Boy (1995)

One of many sketches from Saturday Night Live to spin off as a feature film was Peter Segal's 1995 buddy comedy Tommy Boy. SNL castmates David Spade and Chris Farley star in this ridiculous comedy about a socially inept and physically disruptive Tommy (Farley) who desperately tries to save his late father's auto parts factory with the help of straight-laced Richard (Spade). Critics were unkind towards Tommy Boy, but endless reruns on cable TV have made Tommy Boy a cult classic. It enjoys an A- CinemaScore and 90% audience approval on Rotten Tomatoes.

3. Armageddon (1998)

Critics saw only doom in Armageddon, Michael Bay's sci-fi blockbuster from 1998 about blue collar drillers recruited by NASA to stop an Earthbound asteroid. "I must confess that at times I found myself rooting for the meteor to hit the Earth and put us all out of our misery," wrote Andrew Sarris in his review for Observer. Still, Armageddon was an unstoppable pop culture juggernaut (Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" was EVERYWHERE) that endures even now as a relic of late '90s tentpole filmmaking. The movie maintains a strong A- CinemaScore and a 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (versus 43% from critics).

2. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Even in an era when superheroes ruled theaters, the king of the monsters still had power. In 2019, writer/director Michael Dougherty unleashed Godzilla: King of the Monsters, a Hollywood blockbuster that expanded the MonsterVerse franchise. A direct sequel to 2014's Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters sees the rise of the horrific dragon-like monster Ghidora, as well as the other "Titans," with Godzilla the only one capable of stopping them from destroying the world. Critics were unimpressed by King of the Monsters' imposing presence, but audiences cheered it on anyway. On Rotten Tomatoes, its critics' score is just 42% versus the more muscular 83% by audiences.

1. National Treasure (2004)

Critics might have rolled their eyes over Nicolas Cage vandalizing the Declaration of Independence, but in 2004, audiences couldn't get enough of it. About a historian (Cage) who teams up with other experts to locate lost treasure indicated by a map hidden on America's founding documents, National Treasure was a legitimate box office smash that further solidified Nicolas Cage's movie star status. (And to think: Once upon a time, Disney made original hit movies not based on comic books or theme park rides.) While audiences loved National Treasure so much that it's now regarded as a modern classic, critics weren't so amused. It has a paltry 46% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Roger Ebert criticizing it as a would-be Monty Python parody in his two-star review.

Eric Francisco is a freelance entertainment journalist and graduate of Rutgers University. If a movie or TV show has superheroes, spaceships, kung fu, or John Cena, he's your guy to make sense of it. A former senior writer at Inverse, his byline has also appeared at Vulture, The Daily Beast, Observer, and The Mary Sue. You can find him screaming at Devils hockey games or dodging enemy fire in Call of Duty: Warzone.

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Set in 1800s Italy and based on a true story, “Kidnapped” is so primally upsetting that you would think it would be unbearable to watch. But it proves intoxicating, at times nearly overwhelming, thanks to perfect casting, an economical and impassioned screenplay, and filmmaking overseen by 84-year old cowriter-director Marco Bellocchio , who might be one of the greatest living narrative filmmakers who is not usually recognized as such.

In 1857 in Bologna, a part of Italy that was then controlled by the Papal States , an infant Jewish boy named Edgardo Mortara is impulsively baptized by his family’s babysitter, a Catholic teenager. By the time the boy turns six, knowledge of the unauthorized ceremony reaches the local inquisitor Father Pier Gaetano Feletti ( Fabrizio Gifuni ). Feletti sends police to take the boy from his family, citing a Papal States policy forbidding Christians from being raised by members of other faiths. The Mortaras are told that the boy can remain with them if everyone in the household (including Edgardo’s six siblings) converts. Edgardo’s father Salomone "Momolo" ( Fausto Russo Alesi ) and mother Marianna ( Barbara Ronchi ) pick a third, agonizingly difficult path: let the boy be taken away and retain their household's religious and cultural identity while fighting church and state through the legal system and the newspapers, in hopes of returning Edgardo to his birth family and pulling the whole establishment down.

It's a seemingly impossible task. Time is not on the parents' side. The movie takes place over a sixteen year span. Viewers know not only that the wheels of justice turn slowly when they turn at all, but that human beings are psychologically complex organisms that don’t always do as desired or expected, and are malleable. Edgardo is raised within the orbit of Pope Pius IX ( Paolo Pierobon ) while his family visits him periodically. We see the child grow up in new circumstances and become acclimated to them (Edgardo is played by Enea Sala as a boy and Leonardo Maltese as a young adult). After an early period of emotional chaos in which Edgardo alternates dutiful attempts to adjust to his new life and impulsive acts of rebellion/rejection (there’s also an attempt to steal him back) he does eventually become a Catholic, and a devout one at that. (A pair of rhyming images shows little Edgardo hiding under his mother's skirts to escape the police early in the story, then later hiding under a priest's frock coat during a game of hide-and-seek.)

There aren’t many scenarios more fundamentally appalling than the forced separation of children from their parents. “Kidnapped” builds upon and complicates that sense of violation even as it keeps cutting back to the family pursuing justice. The movie also provokes philosophical questions that exist alongside the fundamentals without making them too academic and extinguishing their fire: What does one do when a kidnapped person says they don’t want to be rescued? If you try to pull them away from their adaptive circumstances anyway, against their will, is that kidnapping?

“Kindapped” is also an astute study of power: how it’s acquired and maintained and exercised, and how poorly those who have gotten used to wielding it react after they wake up one morning and realize they’re about to lose at least some of what they’ve got. There’s no shortage of films about powerful organizations smashing individual families to pieces and the families trying to repair themselves and fight back, but few recent examples show the dynamics of oppression and resistance in such direct, non- denominational terms as "Kidnapped." The opening scenes of little Edgardo and his family dealing with representatives of the Church are upsetting not just because of what’s happening but because the representatives of the oppressors are, for the most part, soft-spoken rather than flamboyantly cruel. At times they seem almost embarrassed at having to enforce policies that their own organization devised and implemented. There are rules and laws, you see? And they have to be followed. No hard feelings. It’s nothing personal.

Until it is: when a representative of a Jewish newspaper in Bologna gets an audience with the Pope and is essentially warned to knock it off, nearly as much attention is paid to the tone and presentation of the visitors’ statements as their substance. “Lower your voice and kneel down; have you forgotten whose presence you are in?” the Pope warns. Then he adds, “I could hurt you very badly. I could force you back into your hole. Do you remember when the ghetto gate was closed from dusk to dawn, or have you already forgotten?” When the tables are turned even slightly on Feletti by representatives of the (secular) legal system, he gets his back up at being challenged. “I would like to make clear that the decisions, the judgments of the Church, are not subject to any other authority of an inferior position,” he warns court officials who have come to interrogate him.

The movie depicts the 19th century Church as a corrupt, brutal, power-drunk organization that positioned itself as as a middleman between God and individuals in order to crush rival faiths, enforce patriarchy, guilt-trip most of the subjugated population into “donating” to them and obeying their edicts, and siphon off or steal material wealth and real estate. (Late in the movie, when it becomes clear that the Papal States are about to get smacked down by the secular government, the top bosses of the Church immediately begin discussing where to hide all the treasures they’ve amassed.)

And yet not one of the frocked characters conducts himself onscreen as a mustache-twirling bad guy. They're shown mainly as bureaucrats in turned-around collars: company men. Pope Pius IX sometimes seems as if he’s about to turn into an especially hiss-able exception. But the way Pierobon plays him (with a childlike comportment and self-loathing undertone that evokes the late Ian Holm ) you get the sense that he’s not merely twisted by life among the super-powerful, but that he’s also got mental problems that will never be properly diagnosed.

All this material is presented by Bellocchio and his co-screenwriter Susanna Nicchiarelli (a director herself) not as a cooly observed case study in which bare facts are laid out, but something more in the spirit of a grand, tragic opera, or an epic movie melodrama from an earlier time that that would’ve been shot either in burnished black-and-white or feverish Technicolor, depending on the decade. Francesco Di Giacomo ’s cinematography seems to have been modeled on Old Masters like Rembrandt. There's a hint of Gordon Willis ’ work in the “Godfather” trilogy in the way that single-source lighting falls on clothing and faces. Fabio Massimo Capogrosso ’s busy, booming orchestral score helps unify a script that might have otherwise seemed too terse or schematic. It regularly reminds you of which side the movie is on (the “kidnapping, bullying and oppression are bad” side) even when "Kidnapped" is investing its most disturbing characters with complexity—and reminding you that just because the main players have been reduced to just a wee bit more than their plot functions in the interests of efficiency (the running time is two hours and change) doesn’t mean they aren’t full human beings.

“Kidnapped” might turn out to be one of those films like the older classics it plainly models itself after, where, in the memory, you think of certain characters as richly detailed creations that you spent lots of time with, but they'd prove to have gotten just a few minutes’ total screen time if you sat in the dark with a stopwatch. The only thing I can say against it is that, its determination to get through it all as quickly and forcefully as possible, important part of the story happen offscreen, and other parts are confusing and the confusion is not always cleared up (though withholding the details of the early baptism until a courtroom scene near the end proves to be a masterstroke; it makes the entire tale seem even more tragic—and at the same time absurd).

This has been a great year for movies so far, and "Kidnapped" is another work of substance and style, telling its story with immediacy and a palpable sense of anger even as it channels the work of past masters dating back decades, even centuries.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Kidnapped (2024)

134 minutes

Enea Sala as Edgardo Mortara bambino

Leonardo Maltese as Edgardo Mortara ragazzo

Paolo Pierobon as Papa Pio IX

Fausto Russo Alesi as Momolo Mortara

Barbara Ronchi as Marianna Mortara

Andrea Gherpelli as Angelo Padovani

Marco Bellocchio
Susanna Nicchiarelli

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Entertainment | four-alarm fire burns lumber yard in oakland, entertainment, entertainment | review: is ‘senua’s saga: hellblade ii’ as good as the original it’s different, the sequel to "hellblade: senua's sacrifice" carries over the puzzle and combat but puts the protagonist in a more social environment.

The team crafted a cult classic because of how developers dealt with the issue and used it to place players in an unfamiliar situation. The protagonist wasn’t a fearless do-gooder but a vulnerable, tortured warrior whose sole purpose was to save the soul of her lover, Dillion, after he had been tortured and killed by the Northmen.

The beauty in “Hellblade” was its ambiguity and how Ninja Theory mixed combat and inventive puzzle design to tell a tension-filled story. For the sequel, “Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II,” the developer had to chart a different course. How do you follow up a game where the main protagonist goes to Hell and lives to tell the tale?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRbOmIcVXak A NEW LAND Having come to grips with her psychosis and the death of her beloved, Senua sets her sights on rescuing her people. She ends up purposely captured as a ploy to find out where the Northmen have taken their prisoners. During the trip to Iceland, the slave ship she boarded is destroyed and she washes up on unfamiliar shores.

“Hellblade II” carries over the combat and some of the puzzle design from the original. Ninja Theory tweaked the fighting so that it’s less predictable. Players still recognize patterns in attacks and they’ll have to dodge or parry them, but the adversaries have slightly more variance, and the windows to counter are smaller.

Senua has one special ability, which is a Focus that builds up over time. When activated, time slows down and she can usually overcome some of the more difficult foes. Also, most of the combat is one on one. Unlike the original, Senua finds herself surrounded less often, and if it happens, Ninja Theory opted to blend the chaos of battle with seamless transitions from one foe to another. It’s a choice that creates less of an interactive experience and more of a choreographed fighting scene.

MAKING ROOM FOR PUZZLES The puzzles feature some of the same concepts, with Senua coming upon runes that block her passage. She’ll have to find solutions by exploring the environment and looking for them. In search of a key ally, she also comes across another puzzle type that deals with navigating complex areas and essentially activating switches to open up paths to advance.

Players also encounter a situation where Senua has to carry a light through a dark cave. Players will have to scout around and visualize routes to survive the ordeal.

Unfortunately, the puzzles don’t have as much diversity beyond this. Part of the issue is that the narrative’s flow made it harder to add these needed obstacles, but “Hellblade II” does have a few places where the team could have added more inventive gameplay opportunities for depth.

In some sections such as in the cave, it works well. Her search for a mysterious ally brings together tense storytelling with gameplay and the game’s spectacular visuals, but in sections such as the foreboding forest, Ninja Theory doesn’t do much with the promising locale other than to move the plot forward with some light interactivity. It’s one of the weaker parts of the experience.

That doesn’t mean “Hellblade II” is bad. It’s just different from the original, and that’s a good thing. It’s a sequel that continues to explore a character who already has shown a tremendous amount of growth and uncovers new aspects to her personality. The team finds more ways to mix her internal conflict with the ones in the physical world and shrouds it all in a bit of mystery. That was part of the magic of the original.

Players inhabit Senua’s head and they have to interpret whether what they have experienced was real or a reflection of her instability. “Hellblade II” maintains that distinct tension but shows how her psychosis can spread to others and lead to horrifying results.

‘Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’

3 stars out of 4 Platform: PC, Xbox Series X and Series S Rating: Mature

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Film review: The Guilt Trip (12A)

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Mommie dreariest: Barbra Streisand is Seth Rogen’s mum in the aimless ‘The Guilt Trip’

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Diva meets doofus in a road comedy that needs direction. Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen offer an intriguing contrast in comic styles of different eras – she came of age in 1970s screwball (What's Up, Doc?), he's the tubby poster-boy of Apatovian gross-out – and for a while their pairing as mother and son scores points.

Streisand plays the kvetching Jewish mom who puts the mother into smother, Rogen's a scientist failing to sell his non-toxic cleaning product to the big supermarkets. "Your show's gonna be great!" she tells him. "It's called a pitch, ma."

Somehow they end up on a cross-country trip together, in the course of which they bicker, banter and tell each other a few home truths – and you just keep wishing they'd given them better lines to say.

And better things to do – watching Streisand eat four and a half pounds of steak at a Texas roadhouse (Americans still think greed is heroic) is enough to make you, if not her, sick.

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Johnny Oleksinski

‘atlas’ review: just what jennifer lopez needs — another flop.

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Running time: 118 minutes. Rated PG-13 (strong sci-fi violence, action, bloody images and strong language). On Netflix.

It’s hard to tell if Jennifer Lopez has a talent agent — or a blindfold and a dartboard.

Her projects over the past year have been that random — from her Dunkin’ Donuts ad in which alleged husband Ben Affleck became a rapper, to her campy musical film “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story” that co-starred Jane Fonda and Post Malone as zodiac signs.

None of it has made a lick of sense.

In a modern world that’s obsessed with staying on brand, J.Lo’s brand is more like Newman’s Own — she’s got salad dressing and pet food.

Which brings me to “Atlas,” her Netflix science fiction meh-pic that’s a totally uninspired rip-off of “The Terminator” and “Battlestar Galactica.”

What is she doing in it?

Lopez plays a socially awkward scientist and chess master named Dr. Atlas Shepherd, who must chase down a robot terrorist hiding out on a distant planet where trees look like traffic cones.

I know. This wasn’t on my bingo card either.

Instead of Skynet and Cylons, Lopez’s character says “AI” over and over again in a doomed quest for relevance.

Artificial intelligence — which here, for the most part, means androids — rose up and killed 3 million people. Twenty-eight years later, humanity is still searching for Harlan (Simu Liu), the machines’ nuts-and-bolts leader who led the devastating revolt.

Atlas (another stressed-out and irritated role for Lopez) tracks down Harlan, whom she knew when she was a little girl and her mother helped develop this technology, to a faraway planet. She then accompanies the military on a journey through space to capture him.

What she and director Brad Peyton fail to capture is the viewer’s attention.

Like most of Netflix’s films outside of awards season, “Atlas” is a sluggish afterthought that settles for being just short of OK.

The movie unearths nothing new in what is a very old story of man’s touch-and-go relationship with technology. It not so boldly goes where “Star Trek” has gone many times before.

The filmmakers attempt to contribute some novelty with a controversial neural link device that connects people with AI to improve efficiency. That idea, while intriguing, is muddled and poorly explained. A program adapting to say “s–t!” isn’t exactly Isaac Asimov-level insight.

Even when looked at through the lens of blow-’em-up action, the film’s a fizzle. Once she lands on the planet, Atlas straps into a giant walking robot — think the one Ripley uses at the end of “Aliens” — and lumbers off to an escape ship.

So a big chunk of the movie is just Lopez seated and encased in metal as she shouts at a Siri-like computer named Smith. The ancient idea here is that this embittered, distrusting woman starts to see that not all artificial intelligence is inherently evil.

Sounds like Sarah Connor to me.

While Lopez’s star power and raw appeal are palpable as ever, that’s not enough to flesh out a guilt-ridden, self-loathing genius whose intellect is key to humanity’s survival.

The dismal writing does her no favors, true, but she’s the sort of actress who can save “The Wedding Planner” — not Earth.

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Fiery and thoughtful, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will shake your bones and steal your soul

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Directed by George Miller
Written by George Miller and Nico Lathouris
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke
Classification 14A; 148 minutes
Opens in theatres May 24

Critic’s Pick

Once asked to describe his love for director George Miller’s action masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road , fellow filmmaker Steven Soderbergh summed up his admiration neatly: “I don’t understand how they’re still not shooting that film, and I don’t understand how hundreds of people aren’t dead.”

While Miller’s 2015 epic about a pair of postapocalyptic warriors facing off against a fascist madman didn’t actually kill anyone – even if it might have momentarily stopped a few million moviegoers’ hearts along the way – you get the same Soderberghian sense of shock-and-awe wonder while watching Fury Road ’s follow-up, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga .

Every single human instinct nudges you toward accepting the cruel reality that Miller and his collaborators surely must have murdered scores of innocent extras and stunt professionals while barrelling toward the production’s wrap, so brutally outlandish is the on-screen mayhem. There are deaths by bullets, fire, harpoons and, in one particularly gnarly sequence, a doohickey that combines medieval mace balls with an aircraft piston engine to create the stuff of steam-punk nightmares. It is all then sound-tracked to the guttural grunts of an eternally revving V8, loud enough to shake your bones and steal your soul.

Yet unlike Fury Road – which remains the very best action movie ever made – Furiosa is concerned as much with carnage as it is with grace. If Fury Road was a relentless, single-minded pursuit into Hell that left you gasping for air, then Furiosa is a richer detour into the darkness that gives its audience time to breathe. Even if the only thing left to inhale is a smog-choked wasteland of humanity’s own making.

Separated into five chapters, Furiosa traces the origins of its title character, played with incendiary sincerity by Charlize Theron in Fury Road . This time around, the hero is played by the young Alyla Browne in the early going, then by Anya Taylor-Joy, who isn’t so much a dead ringer for Theron but proves to be a fiercely committed student of superstar mimicry. The actress – whose capacity for balancing innocence-lost warmth with scorched-earth hostility helped her break out in Robert Eggers’s 2016 modern-horror touchstone The Witch – nails Theron’s thousand-yard-stare intensity here, stewing in both toxic guilt and incandescent rage.

The anger is understandable, given that at the beginning of this film, Furiosa is ripped from her mother’s arms by a group of marauding thugs who crave only fresh meat and gasoline, those twin engines of Mad Max -ian survival. Things devolve further after Furiosa is acquired as a trophy-slash-plaything by the warlord biker Dementus (Chris Hemsworth, dicing things up just right), one of many madmen trying to carve out their own corner of the postapocalyptic outback. But as Furiosa grows older and stronger – and Dementus’s hold on power suffers through as many peaks and valleys as the flat Australian deserts allow – the character begins to carve out her own bloody path of retribution, which leads straight to Fury Road ’s chief villain, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).

Anya Taylor-Joy nails Charlize Theron’s thousand-yard-stare intensity in the follow-up to Fury Road. JASIN BOLAND/Warner Bros. Pictures

Too many movies on your to-watch list? Here are the best films of 2023

Keenly aware that Soderbergh and others have spent the past decade watching and waiting for Miller to either surpass or sabotage himself with a follow-up, the director now seeks to build his Mad Max world rather than simply blow it up. By tracing Dementus and Immortan Joe’s self-destructive rivalry – which involves not only an extended visit to the franchise’s fabled Gas Town but also a trip inside its sister city, Bullet Town (the end of the world is no time to get clever with names) – Miller gets to flesh out a demented dystopia that was only haltingly dissected beforehand.

Even 1985′s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome didn’t get into as much contextual, almost infrastructural detail as Furiosa does in terms of what happens after the world as we know it ends. And while some of Fury Road ’s more adrenalin-fuelled action purists may argue that no such background information is needed when you have the chase scene to end all chase scenes, Miller’s imagination is so bursting with delirious imagery and mythology that any adventurous audience should drop to their knees in gratitude knowing that a major studio afforded the filmmaker with such an expansive, generous canvas.

More than four decades ago, Miller began his Mad Max saga, and his career, by imagining a world out of his control. Now, he has been afforded the grand opportunity to remind both his fans that he never stopped thinking about that great, unstoppable wheel of destruction. This is action cinema filtered through the thousand pile-on details of a serialized Dickens novel, grand and seismic.

And when the action sequences do arrive, they are glorious. There are almost too many set-pieces to highlight, though an extended mid-film scene involving the attempted hijacking of Immortan Joe’s War Rig is executed with a precise kind of glee. Each swerve of the truck and each dispatch of a body feels frighteningly real, with each frame a perfectly formed puzzle of a million moving parts. Perhaps even more so than Fury Road , Furiosa is a movie that punishes you for blinking.

Angus Sampson, Chris Hemsworth, Goran D. Kleut and cast in a scene from Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. JASIN BOLAND/Warner Bros. Pictures

All this, plus Miller introduces a new road warrior to the mix whose nerves of steel rival that of either Fury Road ’s Tom Hardy or the previous Max era of Mel Gibson. Playing a mentor of Furiosa’s named Praetorian Jack, Tom Burke matches Taylor-Joy beat for hard-eyed beat, offering a shocking amount of heat for such an icy-veined character.

More than once after watching Furiosa , I found myself doubling over with the realization that Burke has possibly the best range of any actor his generation: not everyone can play such a kick-ass hero as well as the world’s worst boyfriend (in Joanna Hogg’s 2019 drama The Souvenir ) and Orson Welles himself (in David Fincher’s 2020 biopic Mank ). Hemsworth might be getting the most headlines for Furiosa , but Burke deserves the afterglow.

Although Furiosa ’s ending might not land for some – a natural problem when you make one film designed to flow directly into another – its sombre, haunting tone has stuck with me longer than Fury Road ’s more hopeful finale. If this is the way George Miller wants his world to end – not with a bang, but a self-aware whimper – than let him flip the switch and nuke us all. The man has earned his right to send humanity packing.

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The 30 things everyone should do at least once in Massachusetts, according to people who've done them

Posted: May 23, 2024 | Last updated: May 23, 2024

<p>Whether you've lived in Massachusetts your whole life or are planning a trip there for the first time, there are plenty of things to do no matter your tastes. From historic landmarks and museums to stunning parks and hiking trails, <a href="https://www.stacker.com">Stacker</a> compiled a list of the highest things to do in Massachusetts on <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/">Tripadvisor</a>.</p> <p>The list includes must-see sites, unusual activities off the beaten path, iconic buildings and museums, and plenty of places you're likely to have heard of and still others that may be new to you. Whether you're a seasoned local or looking for something fun to do during your visit, we've got you covered. Keep reading for the highest-rated things to do in Massachusetts.</p>

Highest-rated things to do in Massachusetts, according to Tripadvisor

Whether you've lived in Massachusetts your whole life or are planning a trip there for the first time, there are plenty of things to do no matter your tastes. From historic landmarks and museums to stunning parks and hiking trails, Stacker compiled a list of the highest things to do in Massachusetts on Tripadvisor .

The list includes must-see sites, unusual activities off the beaten path, iconic buildings and museums, and plenty of places you're likely to have heard of and still others that may be new to you. Whether you're a seasoned local or looking for something fun to do during your visit, we've got you covered. Keep reading for the highest-rated things to do in Massachusetts.

<p>- Rating: 4 / 5 (656 reviews)<br> - Category: Monuments & Statues<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41623-d482191-Reviews-John_F_Kennedy_Memorial-Hyannis_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#30. John F. Kennedy Memorial

- Rating: 4 / 5 (656 reviews) - Category: Monuments & Statues - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4 / 5 (1,138 reviews)<br> - Category: Neighborhoods, Points of Interest & Landmarks<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41623-d667278-Reviews-Main_Street_Hyannis-Hyannis_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#29. Main Street Hyannis

- Rating: 4 / 5 (1,138 reviews) - Category: Neighborhoods, Points of Interest & Landmarks - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 5 / 5 (498 reviews)<br> - Category: History Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41773-d208199-Reviews-The_Jenney-Plymouth_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#28. The Jenney

- Rating: 5 / 5 (498 reviews) - Category: History Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (939 reviews)<br> - Category: Beaches<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41778-d105420-Reviews-Herring_Cove_Beach-Provincetown_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#27. Herring Cove Beach

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (939 reviews) - Category: Beaches - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (460 reviews)<br> - Category: Beaches<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41499-d5008621-Reviews-Chatham_Lighthouse_Beach-Chatham_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#26. Chatham Lighthouse Beach

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (460 reviews) - Category: Beaches - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,183 reviews)<br> - Category: Natural History Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60890-d133863-Reviews-Harvard_Museum_of_Natural_History-Cambridge_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#25. Harvard Museum of Natural History

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,183 reviews) - Category: Natural History Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (404 reviews)<br> - Category: Ferries<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41623-d1180472-Reviews-The_Steamship_Authority-Hyannis_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#24. The Steamship Authority

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (404 reviews) - Category: Ferries - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (591 reviews)<br> - Category: Historic Sites, State Parks<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41773-d2624823-Reviews-National_Monument_to_the_Forefathers-Plymouth_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#23. National Monument to the Forefathers

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (591 reviews) - Category: Historic Sites, State Parks - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (584 reviews)<br> - Category: Art Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41952-d286038-Reviews-Worcester_Art_Museum-Worcester_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#22. Worcester Art Museum

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (584 reviews) - Category: Art Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 5 / 5 (1,028 reviews)<br> - Category: Biking Trails<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41565-d621117-Reviews-Shining_Sea_Bikeway-Falmouth_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#21. Shining Sea Bikeway

- Rating: 5 / 5 (1,028 reviews) - Category: Biking Trails - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,046 reviews)<br> - Category: Educational sites<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60890-d133639-Reviews-Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology_MIT-Cambridge_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#20. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,046 reviews) - Category: Educational sites - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (305 reviews)<br> - Category: Beaches<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41580-d3337040-Reviews-Wingaersheek_Beach-Gloucester_Cape_Ann_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#19. Wingaersheek Beach

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (305 reviews) - Category: Beaches - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (482 reviews)<br> - Category: Natural History Museums, Science Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60968-d284645-Reviews-Springfield_Museums-Springfield_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#18. Springfield Museums

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (482 reviews) - Category: Natural History Museums, Science Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (443 reviews)<br> - Category: Hiking Trails<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g185492-d105268-Reviews-Cape_Cod_Rail_Trail-Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#17. Cape Cod Rail Trail

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (443 reviews) - Category: Hiking Trails - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (614 reviews)<br> - Category: Castles, History Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41580-d260102-Reviews-Hammond_Castle_Museum-Gloucester_Cape_Ann_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#16. Hammond Castle Museum

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (614 reviews) - Category: Castles, History Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2,261 reviews)<br> - Category: Points of Interest & Landmarks<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41778-d293651-Reviews-Commercial_Street-Provincetown_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#15. Commercial Street

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2,261 reviews) - Category: Points of Interest & Landmarks - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4 / 5 (1,152 reviews)<br> - Category: Speciality Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41623-d103582-Reviews-John_F_Kennedy_Hyannis_Museum-Hyannis_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#14. John F Kennedy Hyannis Museum

- Rating: 4 / 5 (1,152 reviews) - Category: Speciality Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,586 reviews)<br> - Category: Speciality Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g29527-d109747-Reviews-Whaling_Museum-Nantucket_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#13. Whaling Museum

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,586 reviews) - Category: Speciality Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (819 reviews)<br> - Category: Monuments & Statues<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41580-d526430-Reviews-Fishermen_s_Memorial_Monument-Gloucester_Cape_Ann_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#12. Fishermen's Memorial Monument

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (819 reviews) - Category: Monuments & Statues - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2,466 reviews)<br> - Category: History Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41773-d196785-Reviews-Plimoth_Patuxet-Plymouth_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#11. Plimoth Patuxet

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2,466 reviews) - Category: History Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (693 reviews)<br> - Category: Beaches<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41580-d108830-Reviews-Good_Harbor_Beach-Gloucester_Cape_Ann_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#10. Good Harbor Beach

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (693 reviews) - Category: Beaches - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (26 reviews)<br> - Category: Nature & Wildlife Areas<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g29528-d2008164-Reviews-Cape_Poge_Wildlife_Refuge-Martha_s_Vineyard_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#9. Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (26 reviews) - Category: Nature & Wildlife Areas - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 5 / 5 (8,152 reviews)<br> - Category: Art Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60745-d105257-Reviews-Museum_of_Fine_Arts-Boston_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#8. Museum of Fine Arts

- Rating: 5 / 5 (8,152 reviews) - Category: Art Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,496 reviews)<br> - Category: Beaches<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g41778-d560324-Reviews-Race_Point_Beach-Provincetown_Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#7. Race Point Beach

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (1,496 reviews) - Category: Beaches - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (3,134 reviews)<br> - Category: Historic Sites, Universities & Schools<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60890-d102687-Reviews-Harvard_University-Cambridge_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#6. Harvard University

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (3,134 reviews) - Category: Historic Sites, Universities & Schools - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (17,351 reviews)<br> - Category: Historic Walking Areas<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60745-d104604-Reviews-Freedom_Trail-Boston_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#5. Freedom Trail

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (17,351 reviews) - Category: Historic Walking Areas - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (85 reviews)<br> - Category: Scenic Drives<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28942-d108239-Reviews-Mohawk_Trail-Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#4. Mohawk Trail

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (85 reviews) - Category: Scenic Drives - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 5 / 5 (625 reviews)<br> - Category: Beaches<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g185492-d187922-Reviews-Cape_Cod_National_Seashore-Cape_Cod_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#3. Cape Cod National Seashore

- Rating: 5 / 5 (625 reviews) - Category: Beaches - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2,911 reviews)<br> - Category: Historic Sites, History Museums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60954-d108135-Reviews-The_House_of_the_Seven_Gables-Salem_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#2. The House of the Seven Gables

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (2,911 reviews) - Category: Historic Sites, History Museums - Read more on Tripadvisor

<p>- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (16,563 reviews)<br> - Category: Arenas & Stadiums<br> - <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60745-d105250-Reviews-Fenway_Park-Boston_Massachusetts.html">Read more on Tripadvisor</a></p>

#1. Fenway Park

- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (16,563 reviews) - Category: Arenas & Stadiums - Read more on Tripadvisor

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Film review: The Guilt Trip (12A)
The Guilt Trip: Film Review
Film review: 'The Guilt Trip'
Film Review: The Guilt Trip
Film Review: The Guilt Trip
The Guilt Trip

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This Boss Tried to GUILT TRIP his Employee into Staying for Less Money!
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The Guilt Trip Movie Official Clip: Wrong Car
Guilt Trip live at Roseland Theater. Slow-Mo

COMMENTS

The Guilt Trip
From the outset, the movie attempts to stake a clumsy and unearned claim on our willingness both to laugh and to shed an indulgent tear. Seth Rogen plays Andy, a single guy who is forever being ...
The Guilt Trip
37% 127 Reviews Tomatometer 39% 25,000+ Ratings Audience Score Before embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip, Andy Brewster pays a visit to his overbearing mother, Joyce. That proves to be a ...
The Guilt Trip: Film Review
The Guilt Trip provides heavy competition with director Anne Fletcher's previous films (Step Up, 27 Dresses, The Proposal) as to which is the most formulaic and conventional, but this one takes ...
The Guilt Trip
The laughs are gentle, of the chuckle rather than laugh-out-loud variety and they're plentiful enough to overlook the episodic sequences. Full Review | Jun 27, 2014. Full Review | Original Score ...
'The Guilt Trip,' With Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen
The Guilt Trip. Directed by Anne Fletcher. Comedy, Drama. PG-13. 1h 35m. By Stephen Holden. Dec. 18, 2012. Contrary to what the title and casting might suggest, the Barbra Streisand-Seth Rogen ...
The Guilt Trip (2012)
The Guilt Trip: Directed by Anne Fletcher. With Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen, Julene Renee, Zabryna Guevara. 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.
THE GUILT TRIP Review
The Guilt Trip review. Matt reviews Anne Fletcher's The Guilt Trip starring Seth Rogen, Barbara Streisand, Brett Cullen, and Adam Scott. ... but just when the movie is about to get angry, it hits ...
The Guilt Trip
The Guilt Trip Pairing Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen as a neurotic New Jersey mother-son odd couple, then sending the two on a road trip through Texas and the South, Anne Fletcher's "The Guilt ...
The Guilt Trip Review
On the whole, thanks to a great pairing, The Guilt Trip is harmless fun. Streisand revels in her unglamorous role, and the two are definitely a much better option than the Rogen/Aniston film ...
Review: The Guilt Trip
In The Guilt Trip, when Andy (Seth Rogen) asks his mother, Joyce (Barbra Streisand), if she wants to join him on a cross-country business trip, she responds, "You want to drive cross-country in a car with me?"A comparable skepticism could be fired at the movie itself, as spending 95 minutes in close filmic quarters with Rogen and Streisand hardly sounds like smooth sailing.
The Guilt Trip (film)
The Guilt Trip is a 2012 American road comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher from a screenplay written by Dan Fogelman, starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen, who both also served as executive producers on the film.. Andy Brewster, going on a cross-country trip to try and sell the non-toxic cleaning product he developed, invites his mother to join him as unbeknownst to her he has the ...
The Guilt Trip Review
The Guilt Trip Review When bossy Jewish mom, Joyce (Streisand), and her chemist son, Andrew (Rogen), embark on a road trip to sell his new eco-cleaning product, the two quickly find their patience ...
The Guilt Trip (2012)
guilt trip is a movie to smile through and chuckle at when 'life situations' crop up. this is not a nonsense belly laugh type of story. and near the ending when a person is introduced to mother & son the entire emotional part of the story meets closure. a sure fire fun DVD to rent and enjoy!
'The Guilt Trip' Movie Review: The Return of the Funny Lady
The Guilt Trip is not what I expected either. Directed by Anne Fletcher ( The Proposal) from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, it deals in stereotypes—overbearing Jewish mother, nebbishy son steadily mortified by her—but without the broad, frenetic, desperate comedy of say, Streisand's most recent ventures into cinema, the lame Meet the ...
The Guilt Trip
2012. PG-13. Paramount Pictures. 1 h 35 m. Summary An inventor and his mom hit the road together so he can sell his latest invention. Comedy. Drama. Directed By: Anne Fletcher. Written By: Dan Fogelman, Jason Conzelman.
The Guilt Trip Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 6 ): Kids say ( 10 ): This is the kind of blandly entertaining comedy you might stream or catch if it's on TV while you're folding laundry, but unless you're a die-hard Babs fan, The Guilt Trip is far from a must-see. There are some occasionally amusing sequences in this formulaic comedy -- like the bizarre humor of ...
The Guilt Trip
You can imagine the eureka moment: A studio vice president tells his minions that they've simply got to capture the three key demographics of 30-year-old stoner
The Guilt Trip
Movie Review. Sure, we love our parents, but let's face it: There's a reason why most of us leave the nest. ... Cross-country treks never seem to go without a hitch or two, and the same could be said of The Guilt Trip itself. The movie smacks several potholes when it comes to language. It swerves dangerously in its graphic sexual ...
The Guilt Trip
The Guilt Trip starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand is reviewed by Ben Mankiewicz (host of Turner Classic Movies) and Alonso Duralde (TheWrap.com and Lin...
Review: 'The Guilt Trip' An Underdeveloped, Clichéd ...
Review: 'The Guilt Trip' An Underdeveloped, Clichéd Road Trip Comedy Without Much Gas ... The middle section of the movie is an endless series of scenes where Seth Rogen rolls his eyes at the ...
Movie Review: The Guilt Trip (2012)
Directed by Anne Fletcher ("The Proposal"), the newest Paramount release The Guilt Trip is a mixed bag — or hodgepodge, if you will — of productions such as "Tommy Boy," "Broken Flowers" and any number of road pictures made over the last 60 years. That's not to say it is a bad movie, indeed it does have its quiet, funnier moments, but it is also sadly predictable and its ...
The 32 greatest movies that critics hated (and audiences loved)
The film not only launched the career of director Anne Fletcher, who later directed other hit comedies like 27 Dresses, The Proposal, and The Guilt Trip, but also the career of Channing Tatum.
The Guilt Trip
The Guilt Trip. Movie. 2012. PG-13. 1 HOUR 35 MINS. Comedy. Drama. Pressured into taking his overbearing mother with him, an inventor goes on a cross-country road trip as he attempts to sell his ...
Kidnapped movie review & film summary (2024)
The movie depicts the 19th century Church as a corrupt, brutal, power-drunk organization that positioned itself as as a middleman between God and individuals in order to crush rival faiths, enforce patriarchy, guilt-trip most of the subjugated population into "donating" to them and obeying their edicts, and siphon off or steal material ...
Review: Is 'Senua's Saga: Hellblade II' as good as the original? It's
Senua has one special ability, which is a Focus that builds up over time. When activated, time slows down and she can usually overcome some of the more difficult foes. Also, most of the combat is ...
Film review: The Guilt Trip (12A)
Mommie dreariest: Barbra Streisand is Seth Rogen's mum in the aimless 'The Guilt Trip' Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get ...
'Atlas' review: Just what Jennifer Lopez needs
Running time: 118 minutes. Rated PG-13 (strong sci-fi violence, action, bloody images and strong language). On Netflix. It's hard to tell if Jennifer Lopez has a talent agent — or a blindfold ...
Review: Fiery and thoughtful, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will shake your
The actress - whose capacity for balancing innocence-lost warmth with scorched-earth hostility helped her break out in Robert Eggers's 2016 modern-horror touchstone The Witch - nails Theron ...
The 30 things everyone should do at least once in Massachusetts ...
Whether you've lived in Massachusetts your whole life or are planning a trip there for the first time, there are plenty of things to do no matter your tastes. ... - Rating: 4.5 / 5 (482 reviews ...

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