Home
Home

Due Date (2010)

DVD Cover (Warner Brother)
Add to Collection
Sign up to add this to your collection
Add to Favorites
Sign up to add this to your favorites
Overall Rating 59%
Overall Rating
Ranked #525
...out of 20,196 movies
Check In? Sign up to check in!
Genres: Comedy Road Movie

Peter Highman must get to LA in five days to be at the birth of his firstborn. He is about to fly home from Atlanta when his luggage and wallet are sent to LA without him, and he is put on the "no-fly" list. Desperate to get home Peter is forced to accept the offer of Ethan Tremblay to hitch a ride with him cross-country. Peter is about to go on the most terrifying and agonizing journey of his life. --IMDb
User Image
Review by Crispy
Added: October 17, 2011
Generally speaking, I don't like road movies, I'm lukewarm to unlikely-duo movies, and I'm leery of the one trick pony that is Zach Galafiankis. Due Date is all of the above, and doesn't do much to change my mind.

I feel like I should apologize for the lack of a solid plot synopsis here, but considering the movie didn't apologize for its lack of plot, I guess I'm in the clear. Anyway, traveling businessman Peter Highman has just arrived at Atlanta's airport to catch his flight to LA, when a car comes roaring by, ripping the door off the hinges. The cause of the accident is an aspiring actor named Ethan Tremblay, who makes just enough small talk to prove to Peter that he's an absolute schmuck, before wondering off and accidentally switching the luggage, leaving him with Ethan's marijuana pipe. A fun little trinket to get through security. Already on edge, he's even more dismayed to find out this annoyance of a person is sitting right behind him, and after causing a row about Peter sending one last e-mail, inadvertently gets him shot with a rubber bullet by an Air Marshal, kicked off the plane and added to the No-Fly List. To make matters worse, he had left his wallet on the plane and has no means of getting back to the City of Angels, something of a timely endeavor as his wife will be giving birth to their first born in a matter of days. However, along comes Ethan with a rented car, offering him a free ride, and seeing no other option, Peter accepts. Insert ninety minutes of cross-country nonsense.

A movie like this has two things to fall on: the hijinks endured and the chemistry of the unlikely pair. Well, the former falls short. We've got Ethan popping in to a trailer park to buy weed, Peter going mano y mano with a handicapped veteran, Ethan and his dog compulsively masturbating, and the duo accidentally smuggling the aforementioned weed into Mexico. Do you find any of this funny? I sure did. When I was thirteen. Sure, there's a chuckle to be found here and there, but the majority of gags here is nowhere near the ballpark of Todd Phillip's last comedy, The Hangover.

With the shenanigans bar so low, were Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galafianakis able to lift it to an acceptable level. Well, Downey was. He plays the short-tempered straight man to utmost perfection, balancing reactions to his partner's antics with explosive fits of anger and incredulous stares. See, Downey knows the effectiveness of less-is-more, so even though I was hysterical laughing at him punching a child in the stomach or spitting in a small dog's face, it's those blank, unbelieving stares he kept responding to Tremblay with that defines the character. Unfortunately, his co-star does not have such a grasp on things. Playing the exact same character that made him famous in The Hangover, Galafianakis is flying off the rails. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Allen. I even enjoyed him again in the sequel. But that character was a piece in the chemistry of three actors that made the movie work. By itself, it's just annoying. I've seen Galafianakis work a more subtle role (referring to the bidet sketch when he hosted SNL), and the results give me hope that he can break away from the Allen character and have a career that's more than just a flash in the pan.

For the most part, go ahead and skip this one. Unless, of course, you're one of those people who find Galafianakis to be the funniest man alive, in which case, hunt it down. It'll serve as a nice ninety minute distraction from puberty. 4/10.
Lucid Dreams #1: Lucid Dreams - added October 17, 2011 at 10:02am
I agree with you on about everything, but I think I enjoyed the movie more then you. I also can't stand Jamie Fox! 6/10
Crispy #2: Crispy - added October 17, 2011 at 3:39pm
Yeah, truth is these just aren't my cup of tea. That's why I opened with a disclaimer.
Sign up to add your comment. Sign up to add your comment.
Recommended Movies
The Hangover Part II The Hangover Part III Road Trip The Hangover Fathers' Day The Dictator Horrible Bosses 2 Valentine's Day Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan The Disaster Artist Detroit Rock City Paul Keanu Vacation Get Hard Cop Out Elvis Has Left The Building Natural Born Killers
Layout, reviews and code © 2000-2024 | Privacy Policy
Contact: Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Review Updates