Due Date

The critics are being pretty harsh on this film, and yet they give high praise to such films like Role Models and Get Him to the Greek, so go figure. But I had a lot fun with Due Date, It was a fun slapstick misadventure, almost what we loved about The Hangover, so it is clear to say I don't agree with the critics on this one.

Peter(Robert Downey Jr) an architect looking to get home to his pregnant wife(Michelle Monaghan) who is expecting in a week. And when he gets on a plane, he quickly gets kicked off, when he gets into an unfortunate incident with Ethan(Zach Galifianakis) a pot smoking moron, and wanna be actor, who is obsessed with the show Two and a Half Men. When Peter is looking for new ways to get home. Ethan has a car and offers to drive him. Although it is against Peters better judgment, but feeling there is no other way, he goes with him. Will Peter make it on time for his child's birth, or will Ethan drive him nuts during this?

A lot of people said this is a Plane,Trains and Automobiles ripoff, but you know what who cares. This was a funny laugh out loud film. Downey and Galifianakis have funny chemistry, they just play off each other perfectly. Like The Hangover it is one entertaining misadventure, I say don't listen to the critics, see this movie and form your own opinion.

I had read mostly mediocre review of "Due Date", so I was already going into this movie with a negative impression, but I must confess that the reviews I had read hardly paid the proper respects to this movie, because I found "Due Date" to actually be quite nice.

It is a pretty straight forward comedy movie in the likes of "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" starring Steve Martin and John Candy, so if you are familiar with that classic comedy movie and liked it, then you will definitely like "Due Date" as well.

The story, shortly put, is Peter Highman (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) getting into trouble because of Ethan Tremblay (played by Zach Galifianakis) outside the airport, and from there, the funny and awkward situations just escalate.

I found the story to be likable and funny, and there was a lot of really great humor in the movie. Again, I refer to the Steve Martin and John Candy movie. Lots of far out there situations that make you laugh and sometimes even curl your toes in disbelief. Aside from the funny moments, then there was a nice theme with friendship and differences shining through here as well.

The acting in "Due Date" was right on the money and good. Downey and Galifianakis are really working great together, Highman being the one with his life neatly planned and everything usually in place, while Tremblay's life was chaotic and in disarray.

For a comedy, then "Due Date" delivered lots of entertainment and good laughs. If you enjoy comedies with more to it than just the average drunk and teen-sex themes, then "Due Date" is well worth checking out.

Due Date is a comedy of mass frustration. I'm not just talking about what happens to the characters in the film, no, this is simply a frustrating comedy sit through. Here is an all-too-familiar road picture that pins together two people who hate each other and sends them cross-country on a madcap adventure. Needless to say, one guy is an average Joe that we identify with and the other is a blithering idiot who makes every moment a nonstop irritation. If this sounds, at all like the great Planes, Trains and Automobiles, you're not far off the mark.

That earlier movie was a great American comedy. It was funny and endearing because we cared about both parties. We wanted to see Steve Martin get home and we cared about John Candy's shower ring salesman despite all his goofy inefficiencies. Here the Martin role is filled by a very sour Robert Downey Jr. as Peter Highman, an uptight yuppie on his way from Atlanta to Los Angelas to witness the birth of his first child. The John Candy role is filled by Zach Galifianakis, as Ethan, an irritant on two legs who gets Peter thrown off the plane when he won't stop saying the word "bomb". Neither of these two characters are really funny enough to spend any amount of time with.

Peter is probably a nice guy. He seems to care about his wife but he spends the entire movie in a state of boiling anger and that's probably because he is saddled with a guy so insufferable that he could turn even the gentlest soul into a state of rage. Through a series of mishaps, mostly thanks to Ethan's idiocy, they get into every kind of trouble including: A fight with a veteran in a wheelchair; vehicular theft at the Mexican border; a shooting; a car accident; and questions about whether Peter's wife is pregnant with his child.

None of this stuff is really funny. It all seems episodic and some of it is quite violent and unpleasant. I think some of the comic energy that should make these scenes work is missing. We cringe when we should be laughing. I also think that most of the film's failure falls on the head of actor Zach Galifianakis who always seems to illicit the same effect on me as a noisy car alarm. I have seen him in three films now and he always plays the same annoying character: An oddball doofus who has a never-ending repertoire of annoying and disgusting habits. Ethan is a pothead with an annoying dog and even more annoying habits - all of which get under Peter's skin and sadly ours too. His presence, I swear, brings this movie to a dead stop and since he occupies at least 90% of it, you can imagine how unpleasant this movie is.

Due Date was directed by Todd Phillips, who made The Hangover, one of my favorite films of recent years. What that film had was a collection of likable characters and a narrative structure that pulled us from beginning to end. Here his story an episodic series of annoying moments and mean-spirited characters. It ranges from disgusting to irritating to violent and finally soft and cuddly. The problem is that very very rarely ever funny.

** (of four)

I only am writing this review basically to respond to the other reviews posted. While i have to admit that Due Date is not in my list of top ten movies of all time, but it seems that a majority of the other reviewers of this film are comparing it to Plains Trains and Automobiles. Which i might add is in my top 3 comedies of all time. (Huge John Candy fan) This is suppose to be a review of Due Date. Not a review of comparing Due Date to PT&A. I think it is pretty obvious that PT&A is a classic and was the type of film that comes along too few and far between and is hard to compile the amount of talent shown by two leading roles for a comparison. With that said, I can agree that Phillips' seems to be getting a little complex with his story lines (this one we have seen before) and understandably after the success of The Hangover and previous comedies this will be compared to and for the common movie goer siting down to watch Due Date with those other story lines and plots in mind will be disappointed. Once you accept the story line and look into the characters i feel RDJ and ZG make the most of there characters come to life and deliver each role quite well. Remember folks, this is a comedy. Overall i would describe Due Date as a wild road trip for two strangers with completely different personalities with some twists and turns along the way that will make you laugh. Not a great movie. But well performed and should enjoy if you go into it with the right mind set.

Saw it today at an advance screening in CU.

On one hand is a businessman, Peter Highman, who's trying to take a flight to LA to meet his wife who is about to have their child. On other hand is an aspiring actor, Ethan Tremblay, trying to make it big in Hollywood. They meet at the Atlanta airport and the adventure begins.

Having being denied boarding the flight, the reason for which I won't spoil here, they are forced to take a road trip to LA. Plus there's a dog with Ethan. Peter's already regretting the decision but has no choice. The next couple of days are full of surprises neither of them is ready for.

Feeling completely out of place, Peter is harassed by endless questions and embarrassed by outrageously hilarious behavior. He has no idea he will end up from a businessman in Atlanta to a guy with ripped clothes, a broken arm, a gunshot wound with handcuffs two days later.

There's never a dull moment in this movie, even though it has a few serious moments. It brings a refreshing feel to the movies this year and will make you laugh as much as, if not more than The Hangover. RDJ as always, is brilliant with the role of the utterly frustrated businessman who would kill Ethan if it was legal to do so. Zach is, well, perfect as the plump wannabe actor who says and does inappropriate things at the most inappropriate times. Get ready for another hilarious adventure from Todd Phillips! Oh and check yourself before you wreck yourself with laughter!