Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, ‘Due Date’ is about hot-tempered father-to-be Peter (RDJ) being put on a ‘No-Fly’ list along with weirdo aspiring actor Ethan (Galifianakis). With no wallet, ID or cash, Peter is forced to endure a cross-country drive with Ethan and his masturbating dog. And to make things more pressing, Peter must get back to his pregnant wife who is due to have the baby any day now. The predicaments they find themselves in, mainly caused by the idiocy of Ethan, are what then transpire throughout this over-the-top road trip film.
That’s the best way to describe this movie; too much, without achieving anything. It’s like the creators sat down one night with a bong, some booze, and a scrappy piece of paper and said to each other, “What’s the stupidest, most craziest stunts/scenarios that we can come up with?” With the hard part out of the way, they then proceeded to wrap it all up in a sloppy storyline, some random and unnecessary cameo appearances (another cheap trick), and call it a comedy. While the lead actors do appear to be working with what they’ve got, the lack of any substance in this movie means that both performances virtually fall flat. Particularly Galifianakis, whose character Ethan is supposed to be a dopey, but lovable, simpleton, but really just comes off as annoying and overly idiotic to the point that you just want RDJ to whack him over the head and end the whole thing!
The film has given up comedic integrity for brainless stunts, lame punch-lines, shallow sentiment and the most implausible scenarios. Inadvertently crossing the Mexican border with weed, a car wreck caused by a sleep-deprived Ethan, an accidental shooting, mistakenly drinking the ashes of Ethan’s dead father and possible infidelity are just some of the unoriginal, half-witted gems that are doled out in this 1 hour and 40 minutes of nothing. Even the mateship that predictably forms between the mismatched leads is a confusing progression. And when it manifests, it’s abrupt, weak and unconvincing.
Finally, there is no saving grace, no moment of redemption as the movie concludes. Instead, the cheap comedic stunts persist until the end; and like the rest of the movie, they disappoint. Overall, eye rolling and cringing were frequent, but laughs came few and far between, and even then they were the small pity laughs that you give yourself to maintain your mental state and convince yourself that it’s kind of funny in order to just to get through the movie. And of course, ‘WTF’ was uttered so many times that it lost all meaning. [Image from http://www.filmofilia.com/]
