Due Date (2010) comedy/Robert Downing Jr./ Zack Galiflanakis Grade: B
I thought this movie was very entertaining and mildly amusing. I am a big fan of Downing Jr. especially of late, finding that he attacks every movie with a sense of passion that is not easily matched. The jury is still out on Galiflanakis though. Being that he is still relatively new to the big screen I will save my harsh judgement till later on, but he seems to play the same role in all four movies I've seen him in. Now those four movies (or at least three of them) were very funny, but he needs to be careful not to fall into the type cast rut.
I thought that Galiflanakis did a wonderful job delivering the "awkward dumb witted" comedy that he is known for. Him and Downing Jr. worked well together thoughout the movie. The movie is basically one man's fight to get back to see the birth of his first baby, and along the way meets a funny little man who always seems to cause certain disaster. After an unfortunate event on the airplane and a couple of unusual circumstances, the unlikely couple is forced to travel from Atlanta to Los Angeles. The rest of the movie is filled with these two and their struggle to understand each other. Where this movie's real beauty is how director Todd Phillips works a very dynamic plot into this comedy. About a third of the way into this movie is when you discover the depth of Galiflanakis' character. And so the movie continues with this mix of comedy and seriousness until the end, which ends happily.
Side note: (This review is a little less specific because it was written a few days after I watched Due Date and I watched several other movies between watching Due Date and writing this review. Tell me what you think and stay tuned for the Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part 2 review tomorrow night.)
Mike
