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Charlie Sheen could learn a thing or two from Robert Downey Jr. After all, it wasn’t long ago that Downey was one of Hollywood’s high-risk guys. No one ever knew when he’d have to leave a project to check into rehab—or prison—and he’d rarely show up for anything sober. But, in recent years, he’s managed to turn himself—and his career—around, quickly moving from black list to A-list. Now, it seems that there’s nothing he can’t do. He can do action. He can do drama. He can even beat Zach Galifianakis at his own game.
In Due Date, Downey stars as Peter Highman, a high-strung architect who’s just trying to get from Atlanta to Los Angeles for the scheduled birth of his first child. Everything’s going according to plan until he crosses paths with Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis), an aspiring actor who’s heading for Hollywood.
After a run-in with Ethan gets him thrown off his plane and put on the no-fly list, Peter finds himself stuck in Atlanta without his luggage or his wallet. His only hope is to catch a ride with Ethan and his dog. But, unfortunately for Peter (and the film’s viewers), Ethan is a complete and utter imbecile, who seems to be totally out of touch with everything but TV’s Two and a Half Men—and the trip soon turns into a nightmare.
To get to this point, however, you have to accept that a man would remove his wallet from his pocket once he boards a plane, that he would be thrown off a plane for a disagreement with a fellow passenger, and that, once everything is cleared up, he still wouldn’t be allowed to fly. And Due Date is full of those Hey…wait a minute… moments—the ones that pull you out of the story long enough to contemplate whether the scenario makes any sense (here’s a hint: it doesn’t).
As far as brainless laughs go, though, the humor isn’t bad. There are some laugh-out-loud hilarious moments that will catch you completely off-guard—and, at several times throughout the film, large chunks of dialogue will be lost under the audience’s roars of laughter. But, believe it or not, most of the laughs come courtesy of Downey—and in spite of Galifianakis.
Now, I’ll admit that Galifianakis can be funny in small doses—and his clueless man-boy act was still new and somewhat amusing in The Hangover. But there’s clearly a limit as to how much Zach Galifianakis one can endure—and Due Date crosses it.
To illustrate, let’s do a little exercise. First, think of the most annoying person you know—someone who’s so socially inept that everything he says instantly gets under your skin. Now give him a perm, some jeans from 1986, a little dog, an attitude, and a couple hundred bucks worth of pot. Does the very thought make you want to cry? Good. Now think about spending an hour and a half with him.
Fortunately, though, Downey is absolutely hilarious as the increasingly irate straight man who can (and often does) snap without warning. In fact, he single-handedly saves the film from certain disaster. Due Date may not be a brilliant comedy, but if you can overlook the contrived storyline and Galifianakis’s often tiresome persona, Downey’s comedic flair is likely to keep you chuckling all the way to LA.
Blu-ray Review:
The special features included on the Due Date Blu-ray/DVD/digital combo release may be short, but they’re still pretty sweet.
Blu-ray extras include four minutes of deleted scenes—including an extended conversation about the genius of Two and a Half Men—a lengthy gag reel (featuring lots and lots of giggling), and the full Two and a Half Men scene, featuring Ethan Tremblay as Jake’s doped-up new tutor. There are also a couple of super-short montages—one with Ethan asking silly questions and another with a collection of fights, car chases, and spit takes.
You won’t find a making-of feature or a whole lot of behind-the-scenes insanity on this Blu-ray release—but, really, how much more do you need? The film’s extras are everything they should be: they’re short, and they’re silly. They won’t take up a lot more of your time (in fact, you can watch them all in just 15 minutes), and they’re good for a few more laughs. So if you have some time to spare after you finish watching the movie, be sure to sample at least some of the extras.
