Don't Worry Honey, This Baby is Yours ... "Trust Me".
Due Date (2010)
A Review by Ben Hunter
2½ Out of 5 Stars
This film wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I had
high standards for it and it completely failed to meet them.
First of all, a good comedy should leave me quoting and re-quoting, and then quoting the movie again and again because it was just SO FUNNY! I just couldn't connect with the humor in this film.
But my major concern going into this film just wasn't properly taken care of. When you do a buddy comedy, that is a story where 2 complete opposites are forced to embark on a journey together, you have to successfully put them in that situation. A lot of filmmakers overlook this point and just can't wait to get to "that funny part" of the story. The part of the story that they pitched to studio execs that got the movie made, and we the audience will forgive the weak story points that set up the movie/"that funny part" in the first place. Set your story up first so the funny parts will be that much funnier! STORY IS EVERYTHING don't loose sight of that!
So with that being said, I just wasn't satisfied with Robert Downey Jr. putting his wallet in his bag before going on a flight! I definitely wouldn’t do this and don't know of anyone who would. If this is just me and my circle of knowledge then make this known. Give him a reason to put it in his bag. Yeah someone may have it for him later but this needs to be clearly established in the beginning. I think Todd Phillips was too concerned with not giving away his big surprise plot point when that point comes about in the story that he overlooked this in the beginning.
Maybe I'm just confused as to what happened, but this could've been fixed with clever storytelling through film. Establish that the wallet is either in Peter's pocket or his bag and then show "someone" see the wallet drop out of his pocket during the airplane tussle, or give him a reason to go through the bag and just show him look at the bag. Reveal this info in a matter of seconds, literally, and you'll still keep your big reveal in the end. My heart sank when that moment happened, just like everyone else in the theater, but I couldn't get past the reason why they were stuck together in the first place. Yeah after it was established that Peter had no money to get anywhere and banned from the airline and there was Ethan, willing to help. But how he got there is my problem.
I didn't like how the problem of the father of the baby was addressed and then never resolved or even mentioned again. Michelle Monaghan calls her husband and tells him to take her word, they're a family, this BIG problem that's now brought up should just fizzle away. Come on now, that's just WRONG!! You're cheating the audience! Give me a conclusion! Todd Phillips should've known better than that. They didn't even mention the other character that plays a big part in this again.
First of all, a good comedy should leave me quoting and re-quoting, and then quoting the movie again and again because it was just SO FUNNY! I just couldn't connect with the humor in this film.
But my major concern going into this film just wasn't properly taken care of. When you do a buddy comedy, that is a story where 2 complete opposites are forced to embark on a journey together, you have to successfully put them in that situation. A lot of filmmakers overlook this point and just can't wait to get to "that funny part" of the story. The part of the story that they pitched to studio execs that got the movie made, and we the audience will forgive the weak story points that set up the movie/"that funny part" in the first place. Set your story up first so the funny parts will be that much funnier! STORY IS EVERYTHING don't loose sight of that!
So with that being said, I just wasn't satisfied with Robert Downey Jr. putting his wallet in his bag before going on a flight! I definitely wouldn’t do this and don't know of anyone who would. If this is just me and my circle of knowledge then make this known. Give him a reason to put it in his bag. Yeah someone may have it for him later but this needs to be clearly established in the beginning. I think Todd Phillips was too concerned with not giving away his big surprise plot point when that point comes about in the story that he overlooked this in the beginning.
Maybe I'm just confused as to what happened, but this could've been fixed with clever storytelling through film. Establish that the wallet is either in Peter's pocket or his bag and then show "someone" see the wallet drop out of his pocket during the airplane tussle, or give him a reason to go through the bag and just show him look at the bag. Reveal this info in a matter of seconds, literally, and you'll still keep your big reveal in the end. My heart sank when that moment happened, just like everyone else in the theater, but I couldn't get past the reason why they were stuck together in the first place. Yeah after it was established that Peter had no money to get anywhere and banned from the airline and there was Ethan, willing to help. But how he got there is my problem.
I didn't like how the problem of the father of the baby was addressed and then never resolved or even mentioned again. Michelle Monaghan calls her husband and tells him to take her word, they're a family, this BIG problem that's now brought up should just fizzle away. Come on now, that's just WRONG!! You're cheating the audience! Give me a conclusion! Todd Phillips should've known better than that. They didn't even mention the other character that plays a big part in this again.
It was like they were trying to create a "juicy" scene
for a big actor with a busy schedule to come on their set and shoot for a day,
and they then didn't know properly tie up the loose end that is his part of the
story. It felt like a cheap marketing trick, to show that actor's face in the
trailer to get more ticket sales but not really planning out his involvement in
the story. If you're going to utilize a character, then properly put that
character in the story. Stop being blind sided by the fact that you're using a
big name actor that's going to help really sell your movie in addition to your
leads and forgetting to properly tell a complete story by not finishing that
big actor's involvement in the story!
That was the nail in the coffin. I couldn't get with this movie after that. It all just fizzled away in the end when Peter, his wife, and the baby are all laying in the bed as if nothing had even happened in the first place. As if there was never any doubt at all that made them question the marriage. Big setups require big pay offs and not little to no pay offs which I felt this was. I felt cheated.
Had there been resounding comedy, I probably would've enjoyed the movie, despite the disbeliefs of some points. I found the serious points more intriguing than the comedy which is sad, because this movie wants you to laugh and take away the comedy more than anything else. The parts that make Robert Downey Jr. take an interest in Zach Galifiankis were the best parts of the film. That made me sit through the entire thing and got me wanting to know what was going to happen next.
Overall a disappointment, I was looking forward to this film for awhile now. I think it was shot over a year ago. I remember thinking it was going to debut last fall and not this fall. So that long of a wait to be let down THAT much is a complete failure.
Due Date
That was the nail in the coffin. I couldn't get with this movie after that. It all just fizzled away in the end when Peter, his wife, and the baby are all laying in the bed as if nothing had even happened in the first place. As if there was never any doubt at all that made them question the marriage. Big setups require big pay offs and not little to no pay offs which I felt this was. I felt cheated.
Had there been resounding comedy, I probably would've enjoyed the movie, despite the disbeliefs of some points. I found the serious points more intriguing than the comedy which is sad, because this movie wants you to laugh and take away the comedy more than anything else. The parts that make Robert Downey Jr. take an interest in Zach Galifiankis were the best parts of the film. That made me sit through the entire thing and got me wanting to know what was going to happen next.
Overall a disappointment, I was looking forward to this film for awhile now. I think it was shot over a year ago. I remember thinking it was going to debut last fall and not this fall. So that long of a wait to be let down THAT much is a complete failure.
Due Date
Comedy, 95 Minutes, R
Written by: Alan R. Cohen
& Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel & Todd Phillips
Directed by: Todd
Phillips
Cast: Robert Downey Jr.,
Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx, Juliet Lewis, Danny McBride
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