Check yourself before you Wreck Yourself

I made it back, back into the packed, juvenile filled, sticky floored, oasis that is the movie theatre. After 2 weeks of not seeing something new the combined smells of cheap cologne, teen funk, nacho cheese, and popcorn was simply heavenly. There was an electricity in the air, that anticipation of seeing something new, having the chance to experience something I have never experienced before. Or maybe it is just all the flashing lights causing me to go into some kind of seizure. Nevertheless I was still happy to be there.

This week was a tough choice. First there was Megamind with its animated goodness and then there was Due Date with all its road trip antics. It had me thinking why they couldn’t have released them on separate weekends instead of the crap I refused to endure. But in the end Due Date was chosen not because it was preferred but because it was cheaper to see. And I am not talking about the 3D pricing, I would totally pay that to go see Megamind in 3D, but some other thing incredibly lamely called “Ultra AVX” (saying that makes we want to yell “EXTREME!” for some reason).  That cost $16.99. When I asked what it was all about I was told, I am paraphrasing here, it is like a special room and it is like nice in there and has like reserved like seats and stuff. I was not going to pay an extra $6 for and stuff. I will see Megamind this coming weekend I suppose when it is not in the special room.

Due Date stars Robert Downey Jr as Peter Highman and Zach Galifianakis as Ethan Tremblay. They cross paths as they both make there way to L.A. Peter to be there at the birth of his first child and Ethan to make it big in Hollywood. After an unfortunate incident on a plane they are both grounded and have to find another way of getting across the country. They pile into a rented compact with their highly conflicting personalities and Ethan’s dog Sunny and head out on the road.

I didn’t hate this movie but I don’t think it is that great either. I find a lot of comedies of late have this excessive meanness to them that make them hard to love. There were a number of funny scenes in the movie that will make you laugh out loud but there were scenes that were obviously meant to make you laugh but only manged to make me squirm uncomfortably.

I mean, there is a point where they could part ways. And all Peter has to do is walk away but no. He stands there yelling, cussing, and berating Ethan at the top of his lungs. I understand his frustration and why he would be upset but it just goes too far when he spits on the dog. The dog had done absolutely nothing to warrant being spit on in the whole movie. He sat or was carried around and looked amazingly adorable, yes he masturbated a little but not on anyone, and apparently that calls for being sprayed with human fluids. I was really disgusted at that. It just took that step too far.

The writing was ok. Like I said there were a few good jokes in there but they were mostly clustered at the beginning of the film. It was as if the writers were on their A game, got a little tired, the movie got a little too real, and then they would throw a joke in. I found myself waiting for the humour. And a lot of the time where the humour was meant to be it just seemed forced.

There were a few good cameos. There was Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis, RZA, Danny McBride, Matt Walsh, and Michelle Monaghan. Well Michelle played Peter’s wife and she was mainly on the phone and not on screen for more than 3 minutes at a time. She appears more than once so does that mean it was a role?

Due Date is alright. You will get a few good laughs in there but by the end it may leave a bad taste in your mouth. The truth is it all comes across as a bit pointless. Neither of the characters really grow or become better people they just learn to kind of put up with each other. It is not a movie that has to be seen on the big screen.

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