"You’d better check yourself, before you wreck yourself."...and wreck themselves they did (in all the right ways)! Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis star as Peter Highman and Ethan Tremblay in Due Date, where a play-by-play of the amazing catastrophes need to be seen to be appreciated.
When the oblivious Ethan chaotically enters Peter’s world at the airport, the unfortunate circumstances have already been set into motion. Boarding the same flight to LA, Ethan proves to be one of those obnoxious passengers that pushes all the wrong buttons. It only takes a few awkward statements out of his mouth (this movie provides quite a library) to get them kicked off of the flight and put on the no-fly list. Edgy and frustrated to begin with, Peter discovers his wallet is still on the plane and must begrudgingly accept a ride cross-country from his new acquaintance.
Like any good drama (wait, isn’t it a comedy?), we’ve got death and birth setting up the basis of this long journey. Ethan is leaving Atlanta for Hollywood after his father’s death to follow his dream to star in Two And a Half Men (seriously), while Peter is rushing to LA to be with his wife when she gives birth.
Polar opposites and stuck together, Due Date then takes the idea that all that can go wrong will go wrong and pushes it until you can’t help but enjoy the absurdity. You have to hand it to these guys; first you find yourself laughing at a kid getting punched, than you’re feeling sensitive over father abandonment issues. Just never take a moment for granted, because this movie is all about the unexpected and nothing is more shocking than getting owned by a movie right when you’re about to shed a tear. Embarassing.
