Due Date The Movie - A Film Not to Miss this Xmas!

Due Date has a lot going for it: starring man-of-the-moment Robert Downey Jr and Hollywood’s hottest new comedy star Zach Galifianakis, and directed by Todd Phillips, the man who gave us the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time, it is very much the right film at the right time. Comparisons to Phillips mega-hit are unavoidable: his newest venture has been labelled “the funniest comedy since The Hangover” - but does it live up to the hype?

RDJ plays Peter Highman, a neurotic businessman with a bad temper who – after finding himself on the ‘no-fly’ list - seems to have no way of getting from Atlanta to Los Angeles in time for the birth of his first child. Enter Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis), a weird man-child and aspiring actor who is the reason Peter is on the ‘no-fly’ list, but who also just happens to be driving to LA - with a masturbating dog and his father’s ashes in tow. With no luggage, money or ID, Peter is forced to accept Ethan’s offer of a lift. Inevitably, chaos ensues: Ethan crashes the car, accidentally drives them to Mexico (“I thought it said Texaco, we need gas!”) and gets his dog Sonny stoned; Peter gets frustrated, arrested and shot (not necessarily in that order) and punches a child in the stomach. It’s great family fun.

If the plot sounds vaguely familiar, that’s probably because it is taken right out of John Hughes’ 1987 classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles, in which Steve Martin reluctantly teams up with John Candy on a three-day long journey from New York to Chicago, the mismatched pair forming a bond and eventually pulling together in order to make it home in time for Thanksgiving. So, originality may not be Due Date’s strong point, but it revisits familiar territory with a fresh eye; it is formulaic, but Phillips throws in enough unexpected twists and bizarre asides to make the journey worthwhile.

Due Date is both very, very funny, and surprisingly touching at times. Phillips blindsides the audience with a couple of emotional u-turns, in which Galifianakis is given the chance to prove that he is a worthy successor to the late John Candy. In a particularly poignant scene, an impromptu lesson in acting brings painful personal memories to the surface - the tone switches from side-splitting to heartbreaking in a matter of seconds. RDJ is fantastic as usual, convincingly portraying a man pushed to breaking point and further, and he also snatches two of the funniest (yet most outrageous) moments of the film from under his co-star’s nose.

Sharp, hilarious and unexpectedly sweet, Due Date is one of the best comedies of the year. Every bit as quotable as The Hangover, but with more heart, it will certainly fill the gap until The Hangover 2 is released.

CMD