In all honesty, this never gets a bad movie to watch but it's still lacking a good clear point and message to it really.
It's actually kind of confusing, once you really start thinking about it. So there is this son, who doesn't really get along with his mother, not because he hates her but because she's a bit obnoxious and awkward to be around with. So he always wants to spend as little time as he possibly can with her and also avoids talking to her, for as much as he can. Yet, completely out of free will, he invites his mother to go on a road trip with him, that is going to last for days, while also having some important business to attend to. It just doesn't really make any sense, now does it? Wanting to spend hours and hours with a person that you just can't really stand, in a very small enclosed space.
So you expect this to be the sort of movie in which mother and son slowly start to grow toward each other again and gain a better mutual understanding of each other and share some fond memories of the past. But no, I have to say that the movie seems to attempt this but fails at it because it basically have no idea how to handle it.
The end result is a comedy that is lacking a clear point and strong overall message to it but having said that, it isn't a bad or boring one to watch. It's simply worth watching because it's enjoyable, despite the fact that its story is basically going nowhere, with anything. You just don't really feel that by the end of this movie the characters have truly progressed and their relationship have changed indefinitely but nevertheless, the movie remains a perfectly good and harmless fun one to watch, at all times.
It's not like this is the movie with the best jokes and the most original comedy in it but it still has some comedy and an overall tone and atmosphere to it that work out well and pleasantly for the movie.
I also have to say that Barbra Streisand is absolutely great and she deserved to be in a better movie really. She handles both the comedy and drama in this movie very well and even combines the two quite flawlessly at times. It's also apparent she and Seth Rogen had a lot of fun doing this movie together and there is some good chemistry between them, though I just could never see them as mother and son really. They look nothing alike of course and also their characters have little to none in common. I know that was the point but it would have been nice to have seen somewhat of a connection and bond between the two of them, to strengthen the movie its story as well as some of its drama at parts.
But even despite its very lacking story, this remains a perfectly watchable and fun little movie really, if you're in the mood for some light and simple entertainment.
6/10
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