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FeedMovie Review: Due Date
Films opening this week:
Due Date - Maple Ridge; Market Arcade; Transit, Elmwood, Galleria, Quaker, Hollywood Regals; Flix
For Colored Girls - Maple Ridge; Market Arcade; Transit, Elmwood, Galleria, Quaker, Hollywood Regals; Flix
Howl - Eastern Hills Dipson
Inside Job - Amherst Dipson; Eastern Hills Dipson
Megamind 3D - Maple Ridge; Market Arcade; Transit, Elmwood, Galleria, Quaker, Hollywood Regals; Flix
Stone - North Park Dipson; Quaker Regal - REVIEW
In a strange coincidence, following my own cross country trip from Buffalo to Denver amidst a constant barrage of quotes from Planes, Trains & Automobiles from my co-pilot cousin, I arrived back home on the east coast in time for a screening of Todd Phillips’s follow-up to The Hangover, Due Date. Trying its best to recreate the magic of Steve Martin and John Candy’s memorable Thanksgiving jaunt, this new film pits a father-to-be against the clock as he tries to get from Atlanta to Los Angeles in time for the birth of his baby boy.
It shouldn't take more than an easy drive to the airport and a flight west, but when Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) literally gets run into by Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis), we see that nothing will come easy in this film. Once "terrorist" and "bomb" are uttered upon a plane, identification and credit cards are lost as they fly to Kansas without their owner, and a clambake leads the duo to the Mexican border with pot and Vicodin in possession, all hell breaks loose and, for the most part, in a humorous fashion.
It’s a mighty task to try and recreate the 1987 road trip classic, but I applaud the filmmakers here fora largely enjoyable effort. Downey Jr.’s sarcastic delivery, impeccable comedic timing, and facial expressions are an effective update to Martin’s straight-laced, buttoned-down advertising executive. An architect with money to burn, he spends his mornings on Bluetooth, leaving messages with his pregnant wife—his Kiss Kiss Bang Bang co-star Michelle Monaghan— and trying to keep his temper in check.
Galifianakis nails the role of a naïve country-bumpkin heading to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. In other words, Zach once more plays the role he was born to portray: himself. John Candy he is not, but while this obnoxious character overstays his welcome, he often finds comic redemption.
The physical comedy is broad, just like any Phillips work. Danny McBride, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis, Matt Walsh, RZA, and the director himself are all on screen for quick, yet integral, roles along the journey. The always volatile relationship between Highman and Tremblay, meanwhile, includes fodder for verbal assault, bursts of physical abuse, and odd moments of emotional clarity, as the film attempts to add a veneer of humanity to the nonsense.
Due Date is a comedy that works. But does it have replay value? I’m not quite sure. It is much funnier than I could have expected. But it's no "Hangover."
Due Date 6/10
photography:
[1] (L-R) ROBERT DOWNEY JR. as Peter Highman and ZACH GALIFIANAKIS as Ethan Tremblay in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' comedy "DUE DATE," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon
[2] MICHELLE MONAGHAN as Sarah Highman in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' comedy "DUE DATE," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Reader Comments:
This movie is really awesome, especially Zach Galifianakis, this dude is so funny. Seen his movies The Hangover and Into The Wild. RDJr is one of the versatile actor. A must watch this movie and I will tell you, its a two thumbs up. :)
Watch it here:
http://www.areze.com/videos.php