Talking Pictures

Rich Bonaduce reviews “Due Date”

Rich’s Quickie: I liked it better when it was called “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”…

Let’s Do! YES, Robert Downey Jr. is funny and charming. YES, Zach Galifianakis is pretty good at playing… basically the same character he always plays. YES there are some funny scenes, moments and supporting roles…

But Give Other Movies Their Due: Let’s play Name That Movie!
An overweight, socially awkward guy gets paired on an airplane with a more socially acceptable and successful person, driving him nuts from the get-go. They both get kicked off said plane, but Mr. Successful in unable to rent a car, so he has to pair up with Mr. Awkward and share a trip cross-country, which is crazy `cause they’re total opposites! Road trip shenanigans and hilarity ensues. Eventually, this unlikely pair comes around to tolerate and even like each other.

If you think you’ve seen this before, you have; and John Candy and Steve Martin did it better because the surrounding circumstances were not so unbelievable. Hitchcock often thrust regular people into unusual situations, and the thrill was seeing what they would do being so totally out of their element. But to put Downey’s Peter Highman and Galifianakis’ Ethan Trembly together and then subject them to things that just couldn’t happen? Credulity is strained, and you’ll find your self fighting the film: Highman would so NOT have been allowed on a plane after being accused of smuggling drugs. Their first in a series of car crashes probably should have killed or at least crippled them. You probably couldn’t steal a Mexican Police car and drive it very far across the border and not get tailed. These are just a few of the sequences that pull you out of the movie with a “Yeah right” feel to them.
If the script doesn’t make you resist the film, as funny as Downey’s Highman can be, both he and Galifianakis’ character do things that make you resist THEM. And Highman comes around to being Tremblay’s buddy way too soon, and for no good reason. Add in a nearly unnecessary Jamie Foxx and an underused Juliette Lewis for kicks, and “Due Date” is retreaded mediocre idea with top-drawer talent who unfortunately couldn’t save it.

Movie Grade: D+

Director: Todd Phillips

Writers: Alan R. Cohen (screenplay) & Alan Freedland (screenplay) and Adam Sztykiel (screenplay) & Todd Phillips (screenplay), and Alan R. Cohen (story) & Alan Freedland (story).

Rated R for language, drug use and sexual content.

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