Due Date (R)

Due Date is rated a well-deserved R by the MPAA for language and drug use, mainly. 

This is why I don't like it when people tell me how drop-dead hilarious a movie is.  It just didn't stand up to the hype I've gotten, so I was pretty disappointed.  There were some humorous elements, and each of the leading men (Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis) were amusing at times, but it just wasn't the roll on the floor riot-fest that I was expecting.  Much of this was due to several of the "humorous" situations....yeah, I don't find them as funny as others may.  Getting an unwilling participant high is really NOT funny to me.  The overuse of the F word is also not humorous to me. It was rampantly present, and didn't add a darn thing to the movie.  Public masterbation just doesn't make me burst into hysterical laughter.

It was also one of those movies where you spend the entire time thinking "dude, you're being an idiot.  Why don't you just do {{x, y, or z}} in order to fix this problem? Easy peasy, done and done."  Right from the beginning, it was further on the absurd side that I like, but not so far on the absurd side that it becomes funny again.  I really just wanted to throttle both of the main characters.  Zach Galifianakis lacks the endearing sweetness that would make his character a bit more palatable, and RDJ, much as I generally adore him, seemed half-hearted in his reactions most of the time, and his inevitable turnaround to the point where he becomes besty's for ever with Zach...it just seemed too sudden and incomprehensible to me.

All in all, I'm glad that I wasn't subjected to Z.G.s naked tush at any point during this movie (which I was kind of expecting, to be honest), but that's about as far as I'm going to go.

I give this movie 2 out of 5 stars (I know, I know...so many of my friends are going to HATE me for this one!  But it's what I think :)

**

For the Moms:
First of all, I want to say one thing:  In my opinion, kids  should NEVER be allowed to watch this movie. There are no good role models, nor are there any parts which make me think that it would be beneficial if its contents were to be embedded in a child's brain.  That being said:

Language.  This movie has it.  Lots of it. Perpetually.  All over the place.  Lots.
Drugs (marijuana).  This movie has it.  Lots of it. Perpetually. All over the place. Lots.
Luckily for all of our retinas, there is no nudity in this one.  However, there is a scene in which (without anything being shown)  Zach Galifianakis' character proceeds to masturbate in front of RDJ's character.
There are also several situations in which the troublesome twosome break many, many laws without much in the way of justice catching up with them....unless being subjected to one anothers' company is justice....which, in this case, just might have been.

The boys might like this movie because there is a lot of physical humor. 

Girls might like this movie because the dog in it is pretty cute.

Topics of discussion:

What did the two main characters do wrong right from the beginning?  What would proper behaviour be in dealing with airplane travel?  How are being calm and talking about your problems going to get you out of bad situations?

Was the marijuana used as a medicinal aid, or was it abused?  Should you ever subject an unwilling person to drug use?  Why or why not?

The two main characters ended up respecting one another. How did this respect lead to them having a better relationship?  When you respect others, is it easier to deal with their failings?

Why was it so important for RDJ to get to his wife's side?  Why did he place such a high value on becoming a father?

Was he justified in breaking laws and being a danger to others simply because his wife was having a baby?