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DUE DATE (11/5/10; Comedy) |
Downey is trying to get back to his wife, who is about to give birth. An early act contrivance forces him onto the “no fly list” and he’s forced to travel by car with Galifianakis, once again playing a guy a few sandwiches short of a picnic.
This is one of those road movies where two people forced to be around each other are supposed to grow souls and learn about something greater than themselves.
Except that it doesn’t work. Phillips tries to have it both ways by making Downey a complete ass with barely any redeeming qualities. To say Galifianakis barely functions as a human being is kind. He barely functions as a plot device. You wonder how this guy manages to tie his shoes every day.
It’s very mean-spirited, and occasionally funny. The problem is that it doesn’t commit to being totally effed-up, always seeming to pull back at the last moment; lest anyone walk away thinking the movie is unlikable.
It also kept reminding me about other movies that have done this better, namely – Planes Trains and Automobiles (1988) and Midnight Run (1987). (Warner Bros.)
— DENNIS WILLIS
