DUE DATE
(R)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Acerbic and confrontational Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is trying to get across the country for the birth of his first child. However, a chance meeting with Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) at the airport spirals into an altercation that gets him booted off the plane and on the no-fly list. This leaves Peter and Ethan to make the road trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles without killing each other.
WHAT I LIKED
I’ll admit that while I wasn’t wild about this movie when I first saw it in the theaters, I actually found it more enjoyable on home video. A lot of this is due to the fact that I knew what to expect. Instead of a raunchy but fun comedy like “The Hangover,” I knew to expect something darker, more mean-spirited and sardonic.
What carries the movie are the performances. It’s not that Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis have the greatest chemistry. Rather, they work incredibly well with the roles they are given. Each has his time to shine, and they are both generous enough to allow the other to capitalize on this.
As far as road trip comedies go, this isn’t the best one. However, it has plenty of funny parts – even outside of the trailer. Fans of the actors will enjoy it the most, of course.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I don’t mind movies about social pariahs and dysfunctional people. I just have to find something likeable about the characters. Unfortunately, the only likable things about the characters in this film are their underlying personalities. Both men carry the film, but it’s more about them as good performers in appropriate roles.
Of course, part of the purpose of this film is to see characters like Peter Highman grow as a person, but he’s such an asshole in the beginning of the film – and through pretty much 85 percent of it – that it become really hard to feel any sort of sympathy for him.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray comes with a gag reel, which is also included on the DVD. Features exclusive to the Blu-ray include a couple deleted and extended scenes, two mash-ups (one featuring the physical comedy in the movie and the other featuring the most annoying questions from Ethan Tremblay) and the complete scene from “Two and a Half Men” featuring Ethan Tremblay… which ironically might be the final word on the show considering Charlie Sheen’s recent meltdown.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who like mean-spirited, sarcastic comedies.