It’s not that Due Date isn’t funny. It is. But with a top-notch cast and a director at home with hilarious films, Due Date just isn’t as funny as it should be. It relies too heavily on its likable cast of Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis (and a seriously adorable French bulldog) than crafting a genius and humorous script. Plus, in the vein of Meet the Parents where our hero is forced to succumb to awful event after the other (essentially a comedy version of Saw), Due Date is not necessarily the most enjoyable film to watch even with good chemistry between the leads.

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After Peter (RDj) and Ethan (Galifianakis) meet at the Atlanta airport and Ethan accidentally goads Peter into flipping out on the plane to LAX, the two get thrown off and put on the Do Not Fly list. In order to get back to LA in time to greet his new son into the world, Peter, an uptight architect, is forced to bum a cross-country ride with the man-child/actor Ethan and his pup.  Of course, the trip goes awry with multiple bumps in the road involving a crippled Western Union teller, pot purchasing, beating up little kids, a coffee can of ashes, masturbation, and Jamie Foxx.

The movie is funny enough. There are a few moments that will produce chuckles, and it will entertain the masses until The Hangover 2 comes out, but it doesn’t even live up to its blatant inspiration, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. As typically hilarious as Galigianakis is, he can’t quite live up to the earnest of John Candy. He’s obnoxious and passive aggressive, not necessarily lovably clueless.

 It’s mainly RDj’s interactions with this manchild that the greatest laughs are earned. Their chemistry is definitely undeniable, but it makes me wonder if this movie would be even remotely humorous without these two men attached to it. Probably not. A film, even with RDj, cannot rest on the laurels on its leading men alone, making Due Date uneven—and maybe even slightly desperate.

--Darcie Duttweiler