Due Date stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) as two unlikely companions who are thrown together on a road trip that turns out to be as life-changing as it is outrageous.
Director: Todd Phillips
Screenplay: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel, Todd Phillips
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan
Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis
Released: Monday 28th February, 2011
Peter (highly-strung with unresolved anger-management issues) is an architect who has been on business in Atlanta. He is on his way back to his home in Los Angeles to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. However he is forced to change his plans after he meets Ethan Tremblay (a slightly effeminate aspiring actor with disgusting personal habits) and accidentally becomes his drugs mule. They still manage to board the plane but Ethan apparently has a propensity to use inappropriate words such as 'bomb' and 'terrorist' in volatile places such as the First Class section of an aeroplane. Peter gets a rubber bullet in the chest thanks to a trigger-happy in-flight security agent and they're both unceremoniously de-boarded. Peter is then forced to hitch a cross-country ride with Ethan in a rental car to Hollywood where Ethan hopes to find himself a role in the TV show Two and a Half Men.
Due Date is very much a contemporary version of the 1987 film Planes, Trains & Automobiles starring John Candy and Steve Martin. In fact it's fair to say that Due Date is rather derivative of the John Hughes movie. Candy, Martin and Hughes were the 80s comedy dream-team and whilst many would consider Phillips, Downey Jr. and Galifianakis to be the present-day equivalent Due Date doesn't quite match the greatness of its forerunner. Due Date, with its team of four writers, could perhaps have offered more in terms of characterisation and deeper exploration of the human psyche.
Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland have both worked on scripts and the production of popular American animated shows such as American Dad and King of the Hill. Adam Sztykiel had scripting duties on the admittedly less impressive Made of Honour (2008) and Todd Phillips has worked on a plethora of decent scripts from School for Scoundrels (2006), Borat (2006), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Old School (2003) and Road Trip (2000). All of which I would like to believe adds up to more than what we get with Due Date. Phillips, especially, has a good track record of comedy films and I'd like to see him take the next step up to doing work that is consistently funny for a full 90 minutes. He is a talented director who could, but has not as yet, match the heights of Judd Apatow.
Downey Jr. (thoroughly engaging as Sherlock Holmes and stylish and sophisticated as Iron Man) has been in such good form of late and is always eminently watchable. He has a genuine warmth and charm that very few other actors can lay claim to having. Galifianakis on the other hand is a difficult actor to sum up. He worked as a stand-up comic before being introduced to movies by Phillips and despite often looking less-than-physically-appealing his characters such as Ethan Tremblay are imbued with a certain amount of flair and confidence. Tremblay on the whole is well dressed, indeed sometimes flamboyantly so, and his demeanour can be quite heart-warming as well as funny. I'm really developing a liking for him as an actor and of his comic abilities. Downey Jr. and Galifianakis produce brave and unabashed performances bringing life and warmth to characters that often act in morally reprehensible ways and should by rights be insufferable.
Due Date is effectively a two-handed film which unfortunately leaves the secondary characters out in the cold. They are sketchily drawn at best. Foxx who has co-starred in several big Hollywood movies including Law Abiding Citizen, Collateral and Ray while Monaghan is an up-and-coming actress who has starred in the likes of Eagle Eye with her next film Source Code looking as though it will be one of the big hits of 2011. Yet here they are both left clawing for some real identity. Their roles are underwritten and feel like cameos rather than roles that should have rounded out the film as a whole. Subsequently the film has to rely heavily on the charm and likeability of Downey Jr. and Galifianakis who are, at times, playing against type which makes them more difficult to like and less simple to empathise with.
Phillips however manages to find both humour and humanity in his characters, giving the actors enough room and opportunity to express themselves within their roles. To some they may appear to be two mean-spirited losers, fighting and insulting each other, but I'll freely admit to enjoying darker, more acerbic humour. Phillips does well with two diametrically opposed characters but with just a little more effort this could have been almost a study of social cruelties and the complexities of human nature. Sadly however it falls just short.
Due Date is a darkly humorous, mean-spirited comedy, full of inappropriate behaviour and occasional moments of edgy, inspired humour such as an extremely irritating young boy receiving a gut-punch from Peter and an outrageous scene of a masturbating French poodle. The former flies while the latter bombs but it's the willingness to test the boundaries of humour and taste that impresses. If you like your films with a rich vein of jet-black comedy running through them then Due Date is one to watch.
The Blu-ray offers significantly higher quality visuals than the DVD (also included in the Triple Play package). Skin tones are natural and the colours are rich and bright. The image is sharp throughout without any noticeable grain or defects.
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Todd Phillips directs this road trip comedy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. Businessman Peter Highman (Downey Jr.) is an anxiously expectant first-time father whose wife's due date is only five days away. As Peter rushes to catch a flight home to Los Angeles from Atlanta to be present at the birth, complications arise and he is forced to hitch a ride home with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis). The two unlikely companions embark on a frenzied cross-country road trip that will change both of their lives forever. Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan co-star.
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and region B Blu-ray It will require a region B Blu-ray player to play the Blu-ray and DVD or a Region 2 DVD player for the DVD 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&39;s due date five days away As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at his wife&39;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&39;s last nerve Actors Robert Downey Jr Zach Galifianakis Juliette Lewis Michelle Monaghan Jamie Foxx Alan Arkin RZA Matt Walsh Rhoda Griffis Mimi Kennedy James Martin Kelly Emily Wagner Reagan Michelle Connie Sawyer Jon Gould & Kennith Edwards Director Todd Phillips Certificate 15 years and over Year 2010 Screen Widescreen 2401 Languages English - DTS-HD Master Audio (51) Additional Languages German ; Italian ; Japanese ; Thai ; French ; Castilian Spanish ; English Audio Description Subtitles English for the hearing impaired ; Italian ; Italian for the hearing impaired ; German ; German for the hearing impaired ; French ; Finnish ; Korean ; Norwegian ; Castilian Spanish ; Swedish ; Thai ; Dutch ; Cantonese ; Complex Chinese ; Danish Closed Captions Yes Duration 1 hour and 35 minutes (approx)
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