Due Date

Year: 2010

Grade: B-

Country: USA

Director: Phillips

Review

there’s no way of reviewing this film without referencing its similarity (and inferiority) to planes, trains and automobiles. so there it is.

as its own film it’s a fairly good odd couple/road film that has some nice laughs. downey jr. and galifianakis do a fine job here and the writing works well with their style so it’s a good match on that level. however, the weakness in the writing is apparent because i couldn’t help but constantly compare it to ptaa. in ptaa the characters are revealed to us slowly and organically; it’s the difference between easing yourself into a pool and diving right in. ptaa is actually a shorter film, but feels much more full. we know everything there is to know about del and neal and their relationship evolves slowly until its explosion, resolution, explosion, resolution and ultimate friendship. here, though, the explosion is much more immediate and the friendship is less believable. due date is ptaa in the internet age where one can’t simply break from an annoying character clearing his throat as del does in ptaa, rather it comes from getting your arm broken by galifianakis’ character who later accidentally shoots it and then throws up on it. i’m not making this up, i couldn’t. and that’s, perhaps, the greatest divide between the two films – one was done with relative subtlety and the other goes to the extreme. there’s nothing wrong with wacky comedy like this, but when it’s essentially a remake of a perfect film, then wacky is just as pointless as remaking it in the first place.

Watched in theater