The Hangover
might have had it's moments, but seeing it hit big at the box office, while more
adventurous or off-beat comedies struggled at the box office, would be
enough to make anyone think he had the golden touch when it comes to
comedy. So, like a lot of comedians before him, Phillips seems to have asked himself one question with Due Daye : how far can I push
a tried and tested comedy concept before it stops working? Pairing
an uptight guy and a free spirit is hardly ground breaking - but what
happens if the free spirit is really, really annoying, and the uptight
guy is a really, really massive arsehole? Due Date
is what happens, and while it's wildly uneven and not the kind of film
that holds up to much thought at all after the credits roll, it is both
funny and strangely compelling. That's largely due to the
performances of Robert Downey Jr as Peter, AKA the stressed-out uptight
one, and Zach Galifianakis as Ethan, the idiotic, pretentious, would-be
actor one who manages to get the pair of them thrown off their
flight. Two words : Road Trip. For a while this
works, but then it starts to dawn that Peter is actually a massive
prick - maybe it's when he gut punches a little kid, maybe it's when he
spits on Ethan's dog, but eventually sympathies shift to Ethan, only to
then remember that Ethan is actually even more painful than Peter. If Due Date
was broader or more subtle it would work better : as it stands, it
veers wildly between scenes of rampant douche-baggerey and blatant
stabs at tear-jerking (Ethan's dad just died; Peter is racing to get
home in time for the birth of his first child). It is a result that won't really please anyone. Still,
seeing Zach Galifianakis get flung around in the back of a ute as
it goes over a ditch is comedy gold no matter which way you look
at it. DVD Special Features
DVD and Blu-ray Features are amazing here. There is the Gag Reel,
Deleted Scenes, Action Mashup, Too Many Questions Mashup and a rather
poinent (considering Charlie Sheen's recent events) “Two and a Half
Men” Sequence featuring Ethan Tremblay.
Well worth checking it out.
Conclusion - Movie: 70% Extras: 70%
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