“Dad… You were like a father to me.”
That line from “Due Date” tells you almost everything you need to know about it. The movie explores the role of a father and it’s hilarious.
“Due Date” follows Peter (Robert Downey Jr.) as he travels from Atlanta to Los Angeles to witness the birth of his firstborn. However, when he arrives at the airport he meets Ethan (Zach Galifianakis), who may be a lucky man but brings only bad luck to those around him — especially, Peter.
The two get kicked off the plane after a misunderstanding and are placed on a “no fly” list. But Peter’s stuff, including his ID and all his money, is still on the already-departed plane. So, he is forced to drive across the country with Ethan, whom he has already begun to despise.
As the two men travel and get into shenanigans, they become more tolerant of one another. The funniest moments come when their opposite personalities provide the perfect build-up for clash.
Peter’s uptightness, anger issues, and self-centeredness contrast Ethan’s obliviousness, naïveté, and lightheartedness to the point where you ask yourself whether these two people could have survived 15 minutes together if they hadn’t been forced to.
Most of the funny moments were shown in the trailer, but they are just as funny when you see them in the movie. There are also several serious moments but they are always followed or interrupted by something hilarious.
While I love Downey’s and Galifianakis’s work, this movie was not the best for either of them. It wasn’t their fault, though. It was the story’s.
As I said before, the role of a father is explored through the film. Peter, who is an expectant first-time father, speaks of how his father abandoned him when he was little. Ethan, on the other hand, deals with the death of his awesome dad throughout the movie. But none of these elements are ever explored in depth.
I realize this was a comedy, but it makes me wonder why the fact that Peter’s dad walked out on him was brought up at all. It may have been to show that Peter is afraid that he might repeat that mistake, but this was never mentioned.
That was not the only part that could have been cut from the movie. Toward the end, we find out that Ethan had Peter’s wallet the entire time. Don’t worry; this shouldn’t spoil anything for you because it was unnecessary.
But I think it affects the audience’s view of Ethan, who has shown he is more than an annoying, oblivious, silly character but is instead a person with a heart who cares about Peter. He has shown that he can be a true friend. So, why would the movie tell us he has Peter’s wallet? Why ruin that view of a character who grew on us?
This movie has good and bad parts. Thankfully, the good outweighs the bad making it a good movie to watch with your buddies on “Funny Movie Night.”
