People Who Matter:
Robert Downey Jr: Peter Highman
Zack Galifianakis: Ethan Tremblay
The premise is simple: a super-serious architect and a wacky, aspiring actor (can you guess who is who?) run into each other (literally) at an airport, and after some... difficulties end up on a cross-country journey full of shenanigans and crazy adventures, including a drug deal, a run-in with Border Patrol, and a fight with a handicapped Western Union worker. The thing you have to believe when watching Due Date is that it's not believable. The whole thing is ridiculous, but honestly that's what makes it funny. Seeing these two guys and their budding bromance is not something that is rare by any means, but it's still funny.
The story starts with Peter (Downey Jr.) boarding a plane to Los Angeles so he can get home to his soon-to-be-birthing wife, running into Ethan (Galifianakis) who is going to Hollywood (not LA, Hollywood) to be a famous actor, because everyone who goes to Hollywood becomes a famous actor. They end up accidentally switching bags, and Peter ends up with Ethan's "glaucoma medicine," which TSA agents like to call marijuana. Somehow, the TSA agents only confiscate the drugs and allow him to board the plane. That situation was made even more hilarious by Peter's line, "I've never done drugs in my life!" Coming out of Downey's mouth, that was the first laugh-out-loud moment of the movie. Anyways, back to the movie. Peter is obviously upset at Ethan, and lets him have it. Ethan starts making comments about bombs and terrorists, which are the two worst things to talk about on an airplane. Both men get kicked off the plane, and Peter didn't have a chance to grab his stuff beforehand, leaving him without his bags or, more importantly, his wallet.
Thus begins their cross-country road trip. Since Peter has no ID or credit card, he is forced to hitch a ride with Ethan and his weird little dog. Not long in, Ethan stops in Alabama to buy some pot from a woman he met on Craigslist (sounds legit). While Ethan is in the kitchen doing one of the most... interesting scene reenactments I have ever seen, Peter is in the living room engaging in some good old fashioned child abuse.
Soon we find out that Ethan was in Atlanta for his father's funeral and has been carrying his ashes around in a "vacuum sealed" coffee can ever since. Not only is that creepy and weird, why the hell would you put remains in a coffee can? That's just asking for disaster, which would totally never happen. No sir, not in this movie. We also quickly find out that Ethan has to masturbate before he goes to sleep, and doesn't care if he is sleeping in a car with another man. Not only does he masturbate, his dog does as well. Which is almost as funny as when I saw Carlos the baby "masturbating" in The Hangover.
There's a pretty spectacular car crash that would most certainly involve the death of everyone involved in real life, which this thankfully is not. But even that's okay because Ethan did opt for the renter's insurance. There's a fun scene at the border where both guys are high as a kite and accidentally get in the line to go to Mexico that doesn't really end well, although as Peter points out, "I've never heard of anyone trying to sneak into Mexico." After that, the bonding that we knew was coming from the start finally happens. They end up at the Grand Canyon and have a good bro moment, but that is quickly cut short by confessions from both men.
Peter gets the call he's been waiting for: his wife is going into labor, which results in a mad dash trying to get there on time. At the end of the movie, Ethan suggests them hanging out and Peter kind of blows him off, but does say, "Welcome to Hollywood" that lets you know everything is gonna be okay between these two unlikely oddballs. They will find a way to be friends, because that's just how movies are.
There are some huge wastes of cameos in this movie as well. Juliette Lewis plays the drug dealer, and her part is over far too soon. Jamie Foxx plays one of Peter's friends, and his part is almost entirely useless, except for the truck bump that was shown in the preview. Overall, it has its funny parts. Not enough for the two actors playing in it, but enough to make it watchable. There is nothing here that you haven't seen before in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Hell, even Road Trip was better. But it is worth some chuckles.
7 out of 10
The story starts with Peter (Downey Jr.) boarding a plane to Los Angeles so he can get home to his soon-to-be-birthing wife, running into Ethan (Galifianakis) who is going to Hollywood (not LA, Hollywood) to be a famous actor, because everyone who goes to Hollywood becomes a famous actor. They end up accidentally switching bags, and Peter ends up with Ethan's "glaucoma medicine," which TSA agents like to call marijuana. Somehow, the TSA agents only confiscate the drugs and allow him to board the plane. That situation was made even more hilarious by Peter's line, "I've never done drugs in my life!" Coming out of Downey's mouth, that was the first laugh-out-loud moment of the movie. Anyways, back to the movie. Peter is obviously upset at Ethan, and lets him have it. Ethan starts making comments about bombs and terrorists, which are the two worst things to talk about on an airplane. Both men get kicked off the plane, and Peter didn't have a chance to grab his stuff beforehand, leaving him without his bags or, more importantly, his wallet.
Thus begins their cross-country road trip. Since Peter has no ID or credit card, he is forced to hitch a ride with Ethan and his weird little dog. Not long in, Ethan stops in Alabama to buy some pot from a woman he met on Craigslist (sounds legit). While Ethan is in the kitchen doing one of the most... interesting scene reenactments I have ever seen, Peter is in the living room engaging in some good old fashioned child abuse.
Soon we find out that Ethan was in Atlanta for his father's funeral and has been carrying his ashes around in a "vacuum sealed" coffee can ever since. Not only is that creepy and weird, why the hell would you put remains in a coffee can? That's just asking for disaster, which would totally never happen. No sir, not in this movie. We also quickly find out that Ethan has to masturbate before he goes to sleep, and doesn't care if he is sleeping in a car with another man. Not only does he masturbate, his dog does as well. Which is almost as funny as when I saw Carlos the baby "masturbating" in The Hangover.
"I told you I was a deep sleeper."
Peter gets the call he's been waiting for: his wife is going into labor, which results in a mad dash trying to get there on time. At the end of the movie, Ethan suggests them hanging out and Peter kind of blows him off, but does say, "Welcome to Hollywood" that lets you know everything is gonna be okay between these two unlikely oddballs. They will find a way to be friends, because that's just how movies are.
There are some huge wastes of cameos in this movie as well. Juliette Lewis plays the drug dealer, and her part is over far too soon. Jamie Foxx plays one of Peter's friends, and his part is almost entirely useless, except for the truck bump that was shown in the preview. Overall, it has its funny parts. Not enough for the two actors playing in it, but enough to make it watchable. There is nothing here that you haven't seen before in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Hell, even Road Trip was better. But it is worth some chuckles.
7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment