SYNOPSIS:
From The Hangover director Todd Phillips, Due Date throws two unlikely companions together on a road trip that turns out to be as life-changing as it is outrageous. Expectant first-time father Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) looks forward to his new child’s due date five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at his wife’s side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when an encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan on a cross-country trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, many friendships and Peter’s last nerve.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Ironically,
the funniest scene in the entire movie is watching a bulldog
pleasuring itself. How ridiculous is that?
When it is helmed by Todd Philips who brought you "The
Hangover", the most successful comedy in 2009 and stars
Iron Man aka Robert Downey Jr and the comedian with an unpronounceable
name, Zack Galifianakis, your expectation of it goes high
and then it fell with a loud thud in the end.
The movie opens promisingly with a father-to-be Peter (Downey
Jr) who is rushing back home to LA as his wife, Sarah (Michelle
Monaghan) is due for delivery soon. After a squabble with
a fellow passenger, Ethan (Galifianakis), Peter is thrown
off the flight by US Marshall. And the only way to reach home
in time after realizing he has lost his wallet is to stick
with the incredibly weird Ethan on a thousand miles road trip.
There are moments that are comedy gold but these are mostly
sporadic. One particular exchange occurs at the Western Union
where Peter has Sarah transferring money to Ethan. As it turns
out the transaction failed because Ethan has uses his stage
name instead of his real one thus the id cannot be verified
by the employee. The absurdness didn’t ends there and
a tussle with the counter staff (played by Danny McBride)
turns the whole sequence into a hoot.
The basic problem with "Due Date" is that the four
writers (Philips including) tried hard to upstage one gag
with another. Thrown in Downey’s sarcasm and Galifanakis’
silly performances, the mayhem gets worse and never really
took off. There’s a poignant moment that occurs in the
toilet of a rest stop where after Peter’s berating,
Ethan reveals his aspiring turn to be an actor in Hollywood
and Peter’s attempt to drive off without Ethan in the
morning after. Unfortunately, genuine moments like these are
screwed up by pot smoking antics, misfire shots and a crazy
checkpoint escape later.
Both Downey Jr and Galifanakis are almost perfect as the mismatched
buddies. As good as actors are, there’s only so much
they can work with if the material is substantially weak and
juvenile. Michelle Monaghan obviously is cashing an easy paycheck
clocking in minutes of screentime. The cameos by Jamie Foxx,
playing Peter and Sarah’s best friend, Darryl and Juliette
Lewis’ wild turn as a marijuana dealer didn’t
add much mileage on the whole comparing to Mike Tyson’s
appearance in "The Hangover".
If you like your road trip to be loud, shocking and raunchy
then "Due Date" is one hell of a ride for you. Otherwise,
you might choose to skip this journey. And no, watching Galifianakis
moaning and pleasuring himself onscreen is not exactly funny
material. His fellow canine actor in a way fares better.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The extra features are skimpy with only a 6 minutes Gag Reel.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Dialogue
which plays a huge part here is crystal clear and music is
dynamic enough. Picture looks good with natural colour present
though it’s not one which possessed a 'wow' factor.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted
on 6 April 2011
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