Due Date Review (3/5)

It’s been called the greatest thing since The Hangover, and given that the director helmed that particularly hilarious flick (5/5) last year it wouldn’t be strange for Due Date to be worthy of that claim. Sadly, it wasn’t to be: a bunch of missteps in characterisation, plot and general heart make Robert Downey Jr’s new film more of an Iron Man 2 than a Sherlock Holmes. To its credit, Due Date makes admirable use of its funniest gags such as how Ethan (Zach Galifinakas) gets himself to sleep and perhaps more laughably a later scene involving a gun, but as with so many others in the genre the majority of the comedy has already been displayed by the huge advertising campaign and leave little to provide a surprise fit (don’t worry, though, as there are a few of those too). The much-vaunted combination of Downey Jr and Galifnakas does work well, it has to be said, but the former’s character lacks depth, simply giving way to the hilarious antics of the latter, who even then isn’t on as fine form as 2009’s Hangover. Casual viewers might argue that two hours isn’t a long enough running time for two film greats to establish a meaningful connection with the audience, and yet they only need look at director Todd Phillips’ previous hit to see just how easily it can be done, especially with better casting (co-stars Jamie Fox and Michelle Monogan pale in comparison to Ken Jeong and Mike Tyson) and a more engaging plot- Due Date seems to ungracefully flick between sketches that wouldn’t have been out of place in the likes of Little Britain. Some connections with, for example Two & A Half Men (certainly gaining the film credit from this reviewer), do stop this feeling like a complete mess, and the two leads are often superb, but overall Due Date seems a wasted opportunity to bridge the gap until The Hangover 2 next autumn with something substantial.