Cast: It's pretty simple. Do you love Barbara Streisand? Do you love Seth Rogen? Do you have a Jewish mother? If the answer is "yes" to any of those questions, then this movie's probably for you. Neither of them leave their comfort zone at all. The answer to one of those questions for me is "yes" and Streisand didn't bother me too much, so I found a lot to like here. There's a long list of familiar faces that show up briefly including Casey Wilson, Yvonne Strahovski, and Adam Scott, but none are onscreen long enough to make an impact.
Plot: It's a road trip movie, so the plot follows a pretty predictable path. There's a lot of stupid humor. It's very episodic. Don't forget about the mother-son bonding. What did surprise me is that they didn't fall into the tropes that I absolutely despise. For example, the premise that gets Rogen's character to ask his mom to come with him really comes from a good place. He isn't taking advantage of her. He's trying to do something nice. Also, the end doesn't try to wrap everything up. It solves the necessary conflicts but leaves the non-essentials in flux.
Elephant in the Room: What they hell kind of audience is this going for? It's not a Seth Rogen movie. I can assure you of that. Streisand is the dominant force in this and, while I enjoyed it more than I expected, it is going for that Hope Springs crowd.
To Sum Things Up:
I didn't love this movie. I liked it though. It's endearing, in its own way, and it was nice seeing Seth Rogen play a bit of a different role (even though I don't buy him as a brilliant chemist). Streisand was a bit much at times, but, hey, what do you expect from a Jewish mother type?
Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend
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