Due Date

Due Date

                Due Date is a comedy directed by Todd Phillips about a man trying to drive across the country in time to witness the birth of his first child. It stars Robert Downey Jr. as Peter Highman, and Zack Galafianakis as Ethan Tremblay. Also appearing in this movie is Jamie Foxx as on old friend of Peter’s and Danny McBride as a handicapped Western Union worker.

                The story follows Peter as he encounters a very odd individual (Galifiniakis) at the airport and accidentally switches bags with him. This causes a series of events to occur which land Peter on the no fly list and without a rental car. Peter has no choice but to drive to L.A. with the one last man in the world he wants to be stuck in a car with. We follow Peter and Ethan’s journey across the country as they hit many speed bumps in the process.

                I thought this movie was funny but it’s hard to produce another blockbuster like The Hangover. That movie was the highest grossing rated R film of all time and Due Date clearly won’t be breaking any records. However I have to say it’s nice to have a director like Todd Phillips who actually cares about visual effects in comedies. The scene where the car flies off the bridge and we see the shot from inside the car with everything flying around was epic. Especially since that particular scene was filmed right here in Las Cruces on our own Highway 70. It’s very interesting seeing things you can recognize in a big budget movie. As for the acting there’s never much doubt in Downey. He really is a brilliant actor who completely embodies whatever role is given to him. I’d say his performance in this film really carried everyone else. Galifiniakis is funny but I felt like he was forcing it in this film. He has had a lot of work since The Hangover and I think maybe he needs a break to reset. The scene where they park on the side on the interstate and he runs into the passenger side door of the truck causing it to fall off seemed way too unbelievable.  Jamie Foxx’s small role in this film was entertaining especially when he finds Ethan’s fathers ashes. Overall I give this movie three stars because it was funny yet somehow disappointing because it just didn’t match the caliber of The Hangover.