Rated PG-13

Barbra Streisand (Little Fockers, The Way We Were) and Seth Rogen (50/50, Pineapple Express) are high-profile and ultra-talented, so when they co-produce a comedy together, starring themselves, one expects energy, spirit, and, most important, chemistry. Unfortunately, the only chemistry in The Guilt Trip is the fact that Rogen's character, Andy, is an organic chemist who has invented a green, edible household cleaner that he can't successfully pitch to retail companies.

From the outset, the pace is labored. Andy wakes up several times to his overbearing mother's incessant phone messages. There's much between Andy and his widowed mother, Joyce, that seems familiar to many comedy routines: control issues, interfering in an adult child's life, inappropriate or embarrassing parental comments in public. Many comedies have livened up the parent-child pitfalls-Father of the Bride, or even Streisand's lightweight Meet the Fockers come to mind. Streisand enters the scene ready for the battle, wearing worn T-shirts and down playing her more refined visage, but her looks drag her down, neutralizing her impact. Rogen might be a little intimidated by the icon of song, or just gracefully steps into Streisand's shadow, but what is funny-and there are a few funny scenes-flattens out because there's little real spark between them.

Joyce eats M&Ms while they spar and decide to take a cross-country trip together. On the road, Mom follows Andy's route of sales pitches throughout the country, cheering him on, wise-cracking and nagging a lot, and later becoming the impetus for him to deliver a more compelling pitch. She, in turn, opens up her life, although she still eats M&Ms the whole way. One scene is like an I Love Lucy episode, in which Joyce noisily crunches M&Ms while Andy tries to sleep. (Was it crackers in Lucy?)

Mother and son reveal old secrets during the trip. But benign, hidden truths don't fill up the narrative. Instead, unimaginative antics prevail. Joyce takes up the challenge to eat 4½ pounds of steak in less than an hour at a roadside restaurant, listens to the novel Middlesex on audio tape, and gabs at Andy as they roll along.

At the Grand Canyon, Joyce wonders, "So, how long are we supposed to look at it?" (No spoilers here. The best lines are used in the trailer.)

All such moments are mildly funny, but never add up to hitting a stride or quickening the pace, especially when one is stuck in a small rental car with them.

Eventually, Streisand and Rogen seem more at ease with one another. The viewer, of course, doesn't know in what sequence the scenes were filmed, so that their bonding could actually be that their characters have evolved and not that the actors had initially felt a lack of movie magic. That could be one credit to give the duo: a professionalism that slides through the trite dialogue and firms up a sense of reality to their on-screen relationship.

A nice surprise awaits the viewer at the end of The Guilt Trip, and one dramatic moment occurs in which Streisand proves her power to transform into her character. Still, too little, too late. She is known for her toughness and perfectionism, but for the most part, in The Guilt Trip she either lets it go, or just appears tired. Rogen, whose awkwardness and insecurity is supposed to be the center of the film, says it all with his resounding nervous giggle, and seems to just go along for the ride.

Rated PG-13

Wanted: Your Opinion (In 10 Words or Fewer)

We're always looking for the community's input-and now we're offering you a chance to share your opinion of the latest blockbusters, foreign films, indies, and romantic comedies to hit the big screen with your neighbors! Each week, we'll print the best reader-submitted reviews in the Living section and online at www.zip06.com. Send your 10-word movie review to Living Editor Meredith Crawford at m.crawford@shorepublishing.com along with your name and hometown and join the conversation!