Due Date Review: Silly Fun
November 3, 2010 by Bilal Mian
Filed under Feature, feature overlay, Movies
Director Todd Phillips is back with another comedy after last year’s box office smash The Hangover. With other comedies under his belt in previous years (Starsky & Hutch, Old School, Road Trip), does Phillips have what it takes to add Due Date to his repertoire of memorable comedies? Let’s take a look.
What’s The Story?
In Atlanta, Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) and Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) cross paths for the first time as they arrive at the airport to fly to Los Angeles. Peter is headed home to be by his wife’s side for the birth of their first child, while Ethan is headed to L.A. as an aspiring actor. After a misunderstanding on the airplane involving Ethan and Peter, both passengers find themselves kicked off the plane and on the No-Fly List. With no wallet, ID, or luggage, Peter has no way to get home until Ethan offers him a ride in his rental car. Having no other choice, Peter accepts. Peter’s serious, short tempered, and unfriendly attitude alongside Ethan’s outrageous and disaster-magnet ways cause this trek across the country to become one hell of a ride.
Do Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis Have Chemistry?
Downey and Galifiankis’ performances easily steal the show in Due Date. Both have proven time and time again to be versatile actors in their trade. Downey’s rough personality as Peter is complemented perfectly with Galifiankis’ goofy and absurd portrayal of Ethan. There are several examples of this throughout the film, one of my favorites being the the trip to pick up Ethan’s “glaucoma” medicine. Whether in their character’s enlightenment or the realization of their darkest moments, both actors push their range of emotions making the performances of this “Odd Couple” a memorable one.
What About Jamie Foxx?
Jamie Foxx plays Darryl, a good friend of Peter and his wife Sarah. Foxx’s role in the movie is utilized to help Peter and Ethan move from Point A to Point B. After visiting Darryl’s house, a hilarious dilemma is created for Peter that lasts till the movie’s end.
Any Other Cameos?
Danny McBride plays a clerk at a Western Union who gets pushed too far by Peter’s degrading attitude. Juliette Lewis, Charlie Sheen, and Jon Cryer also have a short stint in the movie as well. Director Todd Phillips cameos as Barry adding to Phillips’ list of cameos in his own movies.
What Ridiculous Antics Can We Expect?
The movie is full of ridiculous antics due to Ethan’s behaviors and Peter’s temper. Viewers can expect a high speed police chase, a brawl with a handicap, babysitting gone wrong, and much more. Due Date is filled with crazy moments.
Is It Funny?
I found myself laughing throughout Due Date. The movie definitely is full of laughs, but none of them were gut-busting or had the entire audience laughing at once. It wasn’t a tough crowd either as some jokes or situations had a good portion of the theater laughing.
What Did I Like?
As I mentioned before, I really enjoyed the acting in this movie. Both Downey and Galifiankis give great performances that make the movie watching experience a fun time. The events that unfold as they travel cross country really make it a hell of an experience. While the comedy is the show runner for the movie, the personal moments the characters experience truly bring a deeper depth than I expected to find. Throw in some good laughs and great one-liners and you have a good time at the movies.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I love great cinematography and Due Date delivers beautifully shot set pieces whether it is the barren countryside, the gorgeous view of the Grand Canyon, or an insane police chase.
What I Didn’t Like?
Maybe my hopes for Due Date were too high, but it didn’t fully deliver on the comedic front as I would have liked to hope. Those hoping to find something as funny as The Hangover or Superbad might find themselves disappointed in the quality of laughs this movie delivers. While the quantity of laughs are high, there aren’t many memorable moments that will have people remembering it for years. This causes me to feel if I might have already seen a movie like this before.
Another complaint comes with the almost abrupt ending of the movie. The movie is wrapping up nicely and BAM! Roll Credits. It really felt like the ending of the movie could have used a few more minutes or perhaps a moment shared between Peter and Ethan.
Final Verdict
Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifiankis deliver spectacular performances in a movie filled with laughs and crazy mishaps. What the movie lacks in gut-wrenching laughs is made up in great characters. While the Due Date doesn’t fit in amongst the upper echelon of comedies, it does guarantee a good, but not great time at the theaters for those looking for a good laugh.
Final Grade – B
This movie looks hilarious
I’m looking forward to seeing this move (on Netflix). I just don’t think it is worth seeing in the theater.
Looks like a good movie!
The Hangover it is not. But it is a good movie and fun to watch!!
Although I enjoyed the movie, I agree that it did not rise to the level of The Hangover or Superbad. It had a lot of funny moments but I found myself wanting it to be over 3/4 of the way into the movie. I agree the ending was abrupt but it was long overdue, if you ask me.
“Due Date” is a wild road trip from Atlanta to LA with some detours. Robert Downey Jr. is an architect who gets entangled with a would-be actor at the airport and it’s all downhill from there. Sex, drugs, & profanity.
GRADE = “B-“
I saw it last week, and it definitely has its strong points, but it is not as good as The Hangover.
My son’s bugging me to see this movie and I’ve been on the fence, wondering if it’s worth my time and money. Your review convinced me! *off to look up movie times*
Thanks a ton, you’re review actually made me go watch the movie.. Very informative and love the way it has broken down into….
Was hilarious – a great guys night out movie right along the lines of The Hangover.
very funny movie, great review.
Just looking at him, I wouldn’t think I’d like Zach Galafianakis, but after The Hangover, and especially his opening monologue on Saturday Night Live earlier this year, he’s turned out to be one of the funniest human beings on the planet. And he has some serious acting chops too, as evidenced by his role in ‘It’s Kind of a Funny Story’.
Great review. I wasn’t able to see the movie yet but will be getting there this weekend. Looking forward to good laughs!
I did like Due Date and it does have a good number of laughs in it. However, I’m always disapointed when most of the best laughs are in the trailer and I’ve already seen them. I’m just waiting for the their appearance in the movie.
I enjoyed the review. I think the grade of B was fair. I think it lacked somewhat in some areas. I would’ve hoped for a better conclusion to the rumored love baby Darryl had with RDJ’s character’s wife.
I thought Zach was funny and when RDJ punched that boy was great, Very funny movie. I would definitely recommend it.
this review sounds so legit!
i cant wait to see this when it comes out. robert downey jr looks absolutely AMAZING. and of course, zach galifianakis is the man these days!
love the movie stills and everything!
The movie was absolutely fantastic. I got the pleasure of seeing a free screening of it and not only is it nice to have a hangover type movie out that keeps you laughing the whole way through but as always its great to see Robert Downey on the up swing of things as he is such a fantastic actor.
Thats great! Well I like your style… I definately have my own style as well. Check out my DWTS reviews and comment when you get a chance. This weeks should be up later today, but last weeks got another comment from the host of the show Tom Bergeron which is pretty cool.
Keep up the awesome reviews. Oh, and go see Planes Trains and Automobiles!!!! Its a classic, especially right around Thanksgiving.
Thanks everyone for the kind words. I’m glad you enjoy the format.
Kelley – I’ve been hearing the comparison to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles a lot for this movie. I haven’t seen PTA, but wouldn’t be surprised if it comes off as similar. The movie will deliver laughs, just not as much as they are hyping it to be. It has does contain some amazing one-liners.
In regards to the format, it’s just a personal style I’ve come up with. I tested it out with Paranormal Activity 2 and refined it with Due Date. I felt myself getting lost as I wrote reviews, so I created a method to keep it more organized.
In my opinion I feel it is a lot easier on the eyes and readers can easily jump to the questions they want answers to.
For me it’s simple, to the point, and hopefully it gets the job done properly.
In no way do any of the writers have to follow this format. Everyone’s got their own style. This just happens to by mine.
Im a HUGE Galafianakis fan (being a comedian myself, I knew of his standup waaaay before “The Hangover”) so Im really excited to see this movie. However – even before seeing it and just watching the previews etc, it really looks a LOT like one of my other favorite all-time movies “Planes Trains and Automobiles” … it SEEMS like a very similar premise and story. I will go in with lowered expectations and expect some good chuckles.
Is this new format something you came up with just for your reviews, or is it for all movie reviews on here now? Just curious. I like it a lot ..just wouldnt work well for my DWTS reviews lol, since they are already broken up by dancing pair and I kind of have my own structure. I like this structure format for movies though! Great review.
Hope the new format starts a trend! It’s easy on the eyes and much better than the wall of texts that are the norm.
Awesome review!
New format rocks–very straightforward & easy to read. I agree with Inisia, good to know about the expectations & being prepared for a sudden ending. I’m still excited to see it!
Great review as always, Bilal. Due Date was also one I had high expectations for so now I can go in with them rightfully lowered. Loving the new format too
Nice review, it was very informative. I really like the new format. The breakdown of sections really keeps the article clean and effecient.
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