In 2009, Todd Phillips proved himself to be a good director with The Hangover instead of merely a mediocre one that I thought he was. While his latest outing Due Date is not as good as The Hangover, it is a perfectly good way to spend $8.00.
Due Date benefits greatly from having such a talented cast. Robert Downey Jr., one of the most talented and charismatic actors around, stars as Peter Highman, a man desperate to get across country in time for the birth of his first child. Zach Galifianakis also stars as Ethan Tremblay, the man Peter has to put up with in order to get home. The movie also reunites Downey Jr. with two former co-stars, Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx. Unfortunately, Monaghan is not given much to work with, but the guys all turn in funny performances. Foxx has a pretty small role as a friend of Peter’s and his wife. This might be the most fun I have ever had watching the guy and it was only for about ten minutes of screen time.
As a buddy road movie, this one is not terribly original, but it works. There are a few jaw droppingly funny moments that should not be funny, but they are. The scene with Juliette Lewis’s character is a great example at that. It will make you question if Peter should even be a father. Aside from the laughs, there is a lot of heart in this movie as well. Ethan is trying to deal with the death of his father throughout the movie and carries his ashes around in a coffee can. No matter how insufferable Ethan gets, Peter is always sympathetic to his loss. That sympathy is the only thing that keeps him from running away from him as fast as he can at times. And though Ethan is not all that different from his Hangover character Alan, Galifianakis does get to play some dramatic scenes with regards to the character’s father’s death and he pulls it off nicely.
The laughs are not as constant as I was hoping they would be, but they are definitely there and some of them are truly inspired. I never would have thought anything could make Two and a Half Men funny again, but leave it to Todd Phillips I suppose. The soundtrack is worth noting as well. Just like with The Hangover I had the music stuck in my head after I left the theater.
My main complaint about this film is that I feel the climax is, well, anticlimactic. I was expecting a bit more conflict as the guys reached the final leg of their journey. But, that did not ruin my overall enjoyment of the film. The characters are likeable, which I feel is a strength in Todd Phillips movies. The movie is well paced and does not drag itself along. I do want to give it another viewing, because maybe the reason I think it fall short of The Hangover is because I had no expectations for that movie at all and it blew me away and this time around I was expecting a lot. Still, I had a good time watching this movie. Downey Jr. and Galifianakis are always a pleasure.
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