I liked The Hangover an awful lot, I wasnt the only one either. I also like Robert Downey Jr. And Zack Galifinackis; so to me Due Date could have been the perfect movie (not quite).

Due Date follows two very different people who journey together across half of the USA; One of them seeking fame after his fathers death and the other racing to get home to be at the birth of his first child. It’s also directed by Todd Philips who also helmed The Hangover.

Read on for my very first attempt at a movie review.

So does this road trip movie live up to its potential? Kind of. It certainly had it moments but I didn’t really get into the comedy until the end of the second act (just before the Mexican border problems!) That’s not to say it wasnt funny before then; I just didnt relate to it in the same way as I did with The Hangover.

RDJ and ZG did a great job bouncing off each other, I found myself hating and liking both characters at times for completely different reasons. RDJs character is pompous and up his own arse while ZG is similar in that he is quite selfish (stopping for weed? Jerking off in the car?) but mostly because hes never known any different as he’s an only child; where RDJ has had to fend for himself after his father walked out on him. So yeh, the conflicting experiences of both characters causes some tension.

However the movie had something which The Hangover didn’t. Emotion.  We see the emotion between the two characters on a couple of occasions and they were truly touching, especially the bathroom scene and the Grand canyon scene.

I enjoyed the cameos from Jamie Foxx and Danny McBride who plays a war veteran and kicks RDJ ass. This movie also possessed what I love to see in movies. Where something is mentioned in passing only to have some bearing on the story later. Although it’s not necessarily a large bearing on the story I found it particularly funny (the implications of Jamie Foxx with RDJs wife and the prophetic dream.)

Even though its not as funny, relatable or memorable as The Hangover, its does have a touching charm that I enjoyed. Its well acted and written with some unexpected events (thanks to the trailers not giving everything away!)

I say go see it!

7/10