When you have the opportunity to see a film before other people, in the case of someone who does not work professionally in the industry this would be called a midnight showing, as a reviewer gets an opportunity to inform his peers about the quality of a film first-hand, before any Ebert or Shalit can. Sometimes though, as in the case of "The Due Date", director Todd Phillips' ("The Hangover", "Old School") new film, it just does not warrant staying up until 4 or in the morning to develop a review.... or even the next day.
There was an obvious amount of hype surrounding the film given that "The Hangover" was such a huge success, but the reality is, not much of the film coherently works to make it consistently funny or entertaining. Where the prior film was funny because the premise is relevant to much of its audience, the latter hands you a relatively bullshit scenario, one believable character, and one annoying asshole. Peter Highman (Downey, Jr.) is and successful architect who is rushing back to Los Angeles to watch his wife (Michelle Monaghan) give birth to their first baby. He has a short exchange which introduces Ethan Tremblay (Zack Galifianakis) to the audience, and they end up on the same plane with each other. A following altercation ensues between the two men and bam, kicked off the plane, road trip.
Phillips, who is trying to capitalize on his "relevant characters in a surreal situation" type of comedy that was mastered in "The Hangover", kind of falls flat in this film, not really given the situation the two leads are in, but the dynamic between the two. Galifianakis plays a character he has type-casted himself into, but it is partially due to the screen-writer and director. He is an irreverent comedian, and because of this was bankable in the dynamic of "The Hangover", he carbon copied himself for this role. On the other hand, we have Downey, Jr., who surprisingly does not play himself. I have argued with my peers many time, this man does not play roles, roles play him. In the case of "The Due Date", his character as the infinitely frustrated Peter Highman, he shines because he kind of drops the rockstar/playboy persona that he has garnered with the "Iron Man" films. It is roles like this that remind us that he is a flexible actor, and sporadically funny moments in the film are usually led in by something Downey, Jr. says or does. There are a couple clever cameos throughout the film, a hilarious one with Juliette Lewis as a homegrown pharmacist and "loving" mother. Other than that though, there is not many positive remarks I can make about this film.
Character development is paper thin, and because of this, there is that certain disconnect between the audience and film. I felt for Highman, but I did not really care if he got back in time to see his child being born. Tremblay was an annoying shit throughout the whole 98-something minutes of running time the film was. Galifianakis has the capacity to be a talented actor such as his cameo in "Up in the Air", and his lead in "Visioneers". And that is probably the worst part of the film, it feels lazy, as if it did not want to make the effort to try anything new comedically. When it does try something "different" it tries too hard and overshoots its original goal. Long story-short, Phillips, hurry up and get "The Hangover: Part 2" over with so we can start laughing again.
Final Verdict: See it if nothing else is out.
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