DVD Release Date: Feb 22nd.
Emulating a Classic
The last couple of years the cinema has been swamped with bromance movies like I Love You, Man and The Hangover. In fact, 99 percent of the customers who saw Due Date in theaters probably expected something along the lines of The Hangover Part 2, with dudes doing dudely things that involve bodily fluids here and there. That said, I hope you like heart in your movies as well, because the film Due Date most emulates is the 80s classic Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Peter Highman, a father-to-be working in Atlanta with a wife (Michelle Monaghan) in Los Angeles. Soon after meeting Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) at the airport, Tremblay manages to have them both kicked off their flight and placed on a no-fly list. Peter’s wallet is in his checked luggage, so now they are stuck together.
Who Doesn’t Love Danny McBride?
During the next 100 minutes we are presented with some fine supporting work, including Juliette Lewis, who is apparently on the comeback trail after a couple of quiet years. Danny McBride pops up as an angry Western Union clerk in one of the funniest scenes of the movie. Of course there is also Jamie Foxx, which if you’re like me, when you first saw the trailer for this you wondered why he was wasting his time doing supporting roles in comedies. All I can tell you is while watching this it brought back memories of his early days on In Living Color. Great work all around from everyone.
Looking Good, Feeling Good
Watching this, I couldn’t help but notice how great the locations looked. Cinematographer Lawrence Sher (Garden State) does a wonderful job of capturing the different locales along the route they take. The Southwestern scenes really pop, and have a bright, vibrant appearance.
Director Todd Phillips continues to build onto his legacy with Due Date. Constantly overlooked by many and not really given his due, in my opinion, if he continues to produce films like this, he may be the new king of comedy in Hollywood. Who knows, by the time The Hangover 2 arrives, people may be asking, “Judd Apa-who?” It’s more than worthy of adding to your DVD collection.