Due Date

In 2000, director Todd Philips made the college comedy 'Road Trip' he now makes another road movie but in a more mature theme.

Last year Todd made the hugely successful film 'The Hangover' so any film he tried to follow up with was going to be hugely anticipated. From the looks of things this does not seem to have met that expectation. Now I found this film to be quite funny and really enjoyed it, but I think it has a couple of problems. I think that part of 'The Hangover's success was that it came from no where. People weren't expecting it to be as huge as it was and so there was a great deal of word of mouth that got the film to be popular. But also too there was an excellent script. It had a good story that backed up the hilarity of the film. Sadly that is missing here. 'Due Date' has a fairly conventional plot of a guy trying to get home for a big event. There are no major twists or interesting surprises. You know where the film is going. This would not matter so much if the journey was good, but I don't think it was as funny as many expected. I admit that it may not have as many laughs as you may want but it still is a lot funnier than most comedies out there today. The other major problem are the characters. Our two leads, I think, are not as likable as they should be which is what has turned some people off. This is not a problem for the Ethan character as he is meant to be nice. But it gets a bit too much for Peter being so nasty as he is the one your meant to sympathise with.

Robert Downey Jnr's career has certainly grown of late and he is excellent in everything he does. He is a great comedic actor and proves that here. While his character is quite nasty he is still very good at it. Zach Galifianakis seems to play very unlikeable characters in his films. Guys that seem to annoy everyone else. Something he does well here. It would be nice to see him do something a little different next time. I am disappointed Michelle Monaghan did not get more to as she worked so well with Robert in one of my all time favourite films 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'. Even Robert's other pal Jamie Foxx has a very nothing part. The only one who gets something of substance is Danny McBride in a very funny scene.

Fans of 'The Hangover' should maybe lower their expectations a bit with this film. It is really funny but lacks a decent plot to make it as memorable as its predecessor.