Review of Due Date

Year: 2010

Writers: Alan R Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel and Todd Phillips.

Director: Todd Phillips

Plot: High strung father-to-be Peter Highman (Downey Jr) is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Galifanakis) on a road trip in order to make it to the birth of his child on time.






The first thing to note about this movie is that it has a hell of a lot of writers. Perhaps that is why for the full 95 minute running time I kept thinking that this had to be the by-product of a creative writing session for schizophrenics. I also don't feel I am over exaggerating when I say that it is a long 95 minutes!

The truth is I wanted so much to love this movie! I am such a big fan of Robert Downey Jr and will tell anyone who wants to listen that the man is an acting genius of the highest degree, but even his comedy talents and strong jawline, could not make this movie anymore bearable. It was a film that really had strong potential in its two leads and the cameos from people like Juliette Lewis and Danny Mcbride, as well as the storyline. However, this is where it falls down. The problem is that we have seen this story done before and miles better in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and while watching Due Date, I kept thinking how good that movie was and wondering why I was watching this instead. I could have switched off at anytime and I would not have felt  worse off for having not seen the ending.

Zach Galifanakis and Robert Downey Jr seem to have thrown everything they could into this movie, but the problem lies in the fact that their characters just aren't very likeable. Galifanakis is an over the top caricature and seems to struggle to incite any empathy from the audience during emotional scenes, while Downey Jr is a vicious character who at one point spits in a dog's face and punches a child.

The film didn't seem to know what it wanted to be and maybe this is a result of having too many writers. One moment you are witnessing a masturbating Galifanakis and his dog and the next minute he is crying about his dead father while Downey Jr relates a story of how his father walked out on him as a child!

My best advice is stay well clear, because this movie sucks! I'll leave you with the trailer, because the best bits of the movie are in those 2 minutes and 9 seconds.

Have you seen it? What did you think?