The success of "The Hangover" seems to have turned Todd Phillips into the next Judd Apatow, and just like that filmmaker's offerings Phillips movies are equally flawed: occasionally funny, they are often disjointed by crude scenes that include unfunny vulgarities and/or inappropriate violence. "Due Date" is no exception.
It's not easy to overlook that the plot is more or less risen directly from John Hughes' "Planes, Trains & Automobiles", so much so that this movie could actually be considered a remake: A snobby business man desperately wants to get home to his family, when he runs into a well-meaning, but disastrously clumsy person, who causes lots of trouble during that trip, which leads too some funny moments. Fair enough, it's maybe an obvious story, but "Due Date" still has to acquiesce to being compared to "Planes, Trains...". And the plain truth is: It doesn't stand a chance against Hughes' movie.
It's not that Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis don't have chemistry on screen, they do. Downey Jr. in particular gives an engaging performance. It's just that one doesn't believe for a second that these two would ever strike up a relationship. Where "Planes, Trains..." is heartwarming and engaging at its core, "Due Date" is marred by too many mean-spirited moments: Punching a kid in the stomach just isn't funny. Laughing at somebody who pours his heart out to you isn't funny. Almost having an accident and looking at a shocked John Candy who turns into a skeleton with hair is funny. Falling asleep at the wheel, skipping the car over and causing it to crash on its roof top isn't. The list goes on.
Scenes like these stick out like sore thumbs and should obviously not have been included. It seems weird to me that Phillips wouldn't have felt the same way when cutting the movie.
"Due Date" is entertaining for as long as its running. In the end, though, it will be "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" that people will remember as the road trip comedy classic.
It's not easy to overlook that the plot is more or less risen directly from John Hughes' "Planes, Trains & Automobiles", so much so that this movie could actually be considered a remake: A snobby business man desperately wants to get home to his family, when he runs into a well-meaning, but disastrously clumsy person, who causes lots of trouble during that trip, which leads too some funny moments. Fair enough, it's maybe an obvious story, but "Due Date" still has to acquiesce to being compared to "Planes, Trains...". And the plain truth is: It doesn't stand a chance against Hughes' movie.
It's not that Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis don't have chemistry on screen, they do. Downey Jr. in particular gives an engaging performance. It's just that one doesn't believe for a second that these two would ever strike up a relationship. Where "Planes, Trains..." is heartwarming and engaging at its core, "Due Date" is marred by too many mean-spirited moments: Punching a kid in the stomach just isn't funny. Laughing at somebody who pours his heart out to you isn't funny. Almost having an accident and looking at a shocked John Candy who turns into a skeleton with hair is funny. Falling asleep at the wheel, skipping the car over and causing it to crash on its roof top isn't. The list goes on.
Scenes like these stick out like sore thumbs and should obviously not have been included. It seems weird to me that Phillips wouldn't have felt the same way when cutting the movie.
"Due Date" is entertaining for as long as its running. In the end, though, it will be "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" that people will remember as the road trip comedy classic.