Due Date (***)
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan,
Juliette Lewis, Jamie Foxx, Danny McBride, RZA
Seen: December 11th 2010
*** Out of ****
Arriving at the airport for his Atlanta - LA flight to get to his wife
Sarah (Monaghan) in time for her C-Section, Peter Highman (Downey Jr.) runs
into Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis). That is if running the door off
a car and accidentally switching suitcases can be called running into. Peter is
a highly strung architect with a reputation for having a short fuse, and Ethan
is a wannabe actor with almost certain failure written all over his intention
to go to Hollywood. When Peter realises Ethan is sitting behind him on the
plane he can’t hold himself in and gives Ethan a piece of his mind, to which
Ethan’s response echoes nothing but ignorance, getting Peter riled up as Ethan
starts throwing around words like bomb and terrorist on a plane. Peter gets
shot by an air-marshal (rubber bullets) and thrown off the plane with Ethan. In
the process Peter loses his wallet containing his credit cards and ID, and is
added to a no-fly list, compounding his problems and his anger.
Ethan, blissfully ignorant of Peter’s feelings, offers him a ride to
Los Angeles, and having no other options Peter grudgingly accepts. Along the
way Peter’s annoyance grows and grows as Ethan presents him with an increasingly
infuriating set of questions and hilariously random statements. Ethan’s handbag-dog
Sonny gets on Peter’s nerves almost as much as Ethan himself, and Peter even
attempts to ditch Ethan at a rest stop, only returning when a last semblance of
decency has him turn around. Ethan, being the only one with money, spends it
unwisely, putting the two in altogether new and different jams than previously.
Ethan even falls asleep at the wheel at one stage, ramping their car off a
bridge and nearly killing them.
The movie has a perfect subplot added into proceedings, with Ethan
carrying his father’s ashes around in a coffee can. This subplot delivers some
unexpected laughs and some heartfelt emotion at various times during the movie
as Peter starts softening towards Ethan. Their trip features some crazy
situations including 4 different vehicles, and even a short but tense visit to
Mexico. Robert Downey Jr. can’t put a foot wrong and is perfect as Peter Highman,
the cranky architect coping with one ridiculous event after another, and Zach
Galifianakis has a royal time as the odd Ethan Tremblay giving Peter all the
troubles in the world. Michelle Monaghan has a small role as Peter’s wife,
which she fulfils just as good as Jamie Foxx does Darryl, Peter’s good friend
and the supplier of two of the road trip’s vehicles. Small bit-parts by Danny
McBride, Juliet Lewis and RZA also entertain in their absolute absurdity, as if
the overall plot isn’t enough.
Due Date is a great comedy with solid laughs and solid emotion that
builds on Todd Phillips’ success from his previous movie, The Hangover. This one
is not as crass as The Hangover, and offers more genuine feeling for the
general public to lap up. Due Date shows us what can happen when good actors
combine with a firm comedy helmed by a good director, and I can heartily
recommend this as a good night out.
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