'Due Date'

'Due Date' (R) (2 stars)

Writers: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel and Todd Phillips
Director: Todd Phillips
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galfiniakis, Michelle Monaghan, Juliette Lewis, Danny McBride, RZA, Jamie Foxx, Efren Ramirez

I really like Zach Galfiniakis a lot lately, always will love Robert Downey Jr. and I have liked every Todd Phillips movie he has made. Then why didn't I like "Due Date" as much as I should? Easily, I didn't really laugh out loud at all except at a few scenes. I smiled half the time and then I sat stone faced a lot more than I wanted to the other half. My problem could also be that they put all the funny scenes in the previews. I don't know why the studio feels a need to show all the funny parts in a preview for a movie that has Downey, Galfiniakis and is from the director of "The Hangover". It is pretty much guaranteed to make 40 million in it's first weekend but okay. For those who haven't seen the previews, even though they have been everywhere for a month, you might think this was pretty funny. The only problem with that is you will not laugh out loud half as much as you did during "The Hangover". Though Downey Jr, Galfiniakis and very good small performances by Juliette Lewis and Danny McBride keep this from being unwatchable. The material just doesn't have that many original jokes and scenes that don't involve physical pain to the characters. That is okay if you do it right but the physical humor isn't that funny. Actually the funniest scene to me involves abuse of a child and that of course wasn't in the previews.

There are also some good scenes with Jamie Foxx who plays Downey's best friend who also dated his wife a while back. Zach Galfiniakis is very good here and he has good chemistry with Downey Jr. Movies like this are pretty much critic proof and being more of a movie goer and lover I wouldn't say skip this but I was disappointed. As I mentioned before it is nowhere as good as "The Hangover" or "Old School". I don't see it becoming a future comedy classic for it is just agreeable. Maybe they should of added a Christmas theme to the movie to give it some juice. That is another problem about this, it reminds me too much of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" which had the same kind of slapstick style humor. That movie knew how to equally measure big laughs with physical slapstick better without being mean spirited. I am not against humor predicated on humiliating and painful stunts like "Kingpin" or "The Hangover" because those movies are both better at making us laugh. This is not going to hurt Downey Jr, Galfiniakis or Todd Phillip's careers and it won't hurt you. It is not a bad comedy but it is to me woefully disappointing.