Bobcat Movie Review: Due Date

Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Dinner for Schmucks) strikes again in Due Date opening today. This is a comedy you do not want to miss.

Due Date is a modern day Planes, Trains, & Automobiles. Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) needs to get home for the birth of his first child. After an on plane altercation between Peter and a bumbling Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) the two of them land on the TSA No-Fly list. To get to their destination the strangers travel cross-country together with Ethan’s beloved French bull dog.

While watching the movie I found myself trying hard to memorize all the quotable one liners, much as I did when I first saw The Hangover. There are lines that are so outlandish that only Galifianakis could pull them off, and he does. Galifianakis plays much the same character you saw in The Hangover; a man in his own little world who wants to be your friend.

Robert Downey Jr. plays a great straight man who is easily irritated by Ethan’s ridiculous behavior. The role is extremely similar to Steve Martin’s in Planes, Trains, & Automobiles, but with a tad bit more edge. Peter is meaner than Martin’s character was, but only because Peter has anger management issues, is under so much stress to get home, and because Ethan is so over the top. You can tell at the core Peter is a nice guy who is trying to be patient throughout the trip, where Martin’s character only realized his wrongdoings at the end of the movie.

Is Due Date as good as The Hangover or Planes, Trains, & Automobiles? I don’t know if that’s fair to answer after only one viewing. Those movies are both classics in my book because you can watch them over and over again. I can advise that Due Date is a first-class movie in its own right, a grandiose picture jam-packed full of good laughs. It is without a doubt theater worthy and when it comes out on DVD I am looking forward to viewing it again. A definite 4 out of 5 starts.

By: Tiffany Matthews