Due Date Review

• 21st Feb 2011

Robert Downey Jr. continues world dominance taking on the world of comedy again in this bromance road trip. He plays a desperate and uptight father-to-be making his way home for the birth of his first child. Sadly, from the get go, (and very much in Planes, Trains and Automobiles style) he is prevented from having any luck by klutz and all round grease-ball, Zach Galifianakis.

It is one misadventure to another throughout the film. The set up is straightforward but the detours taken along the way beg for reason. In fact, they get so ridiculous that when Downey Jr’s character acts extremely (punching small children and spitting on animals) it provides us with a release of pressure. It is these moments that serve the greatest laughs. The rest of the time you can admire Downey Jr’s performance while doing all you can to block out the other guy.

Speaking of the other guy, if this film fails it is for two reasons, Galifianakis being one of them. The script is missing some decent jokes and it is made all too obvious by his weak performance. Surprise, surprise he’s part of the Saturday Night Live crew (whose list of claims to fame really don’t rate as highly as they think. Most of the big names to come from this group are literally a bunch of half rate over actors and Galifianakis is no exception.) Seriously, are we supposed to think that his cutesy, high shaking walk will give us chuckles?

There are some nice supporting players along the way who pop their heads round the door from time to time including Juliette Lewis and Jamie Foxx. But it is Downey Jr. who saves the film and makes it worth watching. I don’t recall ever seeing him play bad in his entire career.

The film does draw parallels to Planes, Trains and Automobiles – sometimes it is eerily close – like when the annoyance admits to pinching the other guy’s wallet and then receiving a well deserved slug to the gut for it. This film has leapt into far too many extremes that you are unsure of how it will all tie up in the end and to be honest it doesn’t.  It ends for sure but there are so many illogical things that have happened that do not get answered (like the law that has been chasing them; or what happens to the best friend’s car they borrowed… Surely all of these leave a trail back to them?)  Instead we get a happily ever after moment and are lead to believe that these guys are still sort of friends. Not sure why, but they are.

Due Date is an oddity, a missed opportunity, but a half decent filler between your next Hangover or Downey Jr. film.

Steven Hurst