DVD Reviews

Due Date - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Feb 22, 2011, 15:06 GMT

From The Hangover director Todd Phillips, Due Date throws two unlikely companions together on a road trip that turns out to be as life-changing as it is outrageous. Expectant first-time father Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) looks forward to his new child’s due date five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at his wife’s side for the birth, his best intentions go ...more

Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis share a ride across these United States and hilarity ensues. Downey is trying to get home for the birth of his first child and Galifianakis only wants his chance to appear on Two and a Half Men.

High-strung architect Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is trying to fly back home to his wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) - who is pregnant and soon to give birth with the couple’s first child.

A chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) goes all sorts of wrong and ends up with both men thrown off the plane and on the no fly list.

Fate further spits in Peter’s eye when he loses his wallet and can’t rent a car. He does find Ethan at the rental place and Ethan offers Peter a ride cross country to get to Los Angeles in time for the birth of Peter’s child.

Think of it as a meaner version of Plane, Trains, and Automobiles minus the trains (well, I did watch Unstoppable on the same night so maybe karma provided the trains).

Both films feature a rather high-strung, anxious person traveling across country with an annoying, maddening counterpart.

Hilarity ensues in both instances but the more modern take seems to have a nastier edge. Seems a bit more violent and certainly much more property damage is done in the modern update.

The comedy is still the conflict of opposites between the two taking the trek. Downey is intense and immediately has an intense hatred towards his co-pilot. Galifianakis is full of ticks and oddities that only serve to get on Downey’s nerves. He’s such a buffoonish character you can’t really blame Downey for wanting to ditch him. The pair engages in some pretty funny vignettes.

The problem happens when about halfway through the movie Downey suddenly changes his tune and starts to feel sorry for Zach. It seems way out of character of what we’ve been shown, but maybe it was the Vicodin talking.

There are still some good belly laughs to be found, but it did seem like the duo got away with a lot. Not that I’m expecting much reality in my films, but if you strain credibility too much you (such as Downey’s eleventh hour acceptance of his car-mate) tend to let audiences see the seams of the screenplay.

All in all, it was funny in some ways but very familiar in others. If you’re a fan of either actor then you’ll still find something to enjoy in this hellish road trip. The film does offer character parts for RZA, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis, and Danny McBride.

Due Date is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1). Special features are presented in high definition. They’re somewhat sparse but include 4 minutes of deleted scenes, a 7 minute gag reel, a 1 minute “question” montage, a 1 minute “action mash-up” that brings all the action scenes together, the 3 minute full scene from Two and a Half Men, and the disc is BD-Live enhanced.

It may not give you a hangover, but Due Date is a funny road trip that offers plenty of time for both Galifianakis and Downey to mug for the camera. It’s a standard buddy film where opposites eventually become friends, just expect some damage along the way.