I was pleasantly surprised when my roommate all but forced me into watching The Hangover with him one Saturday afternoon. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard during a film. What made the experience so particularly great for me, though, was that The Hangover brings together not only fantastic, side-splitting comedy, but also craftsmanship on every level, be it a tight screenplay that constantly works and keeps you wanting more, pitch- perfect acting, and deft direction and editing.
Due Date... has basically none of these elements. Sure, there are a few laughs here or there-- and I disagree with those who would say the funniest moments are in the trailer, as I didn't find the trailer very funny at all--but overall, this is what I would expect from a Todd Phillips film. The simple, basic, fratastic bilge that could only be funny to a bunch of thick-necked guys (or lanky Star Wars geeks wishing they were the former) who are wasted on flat beer and soggy potato chips. Yawn.
I don't know how he did it, but Phillips even got a bad performance out of Robert Downey Jr.
There were whole sequences that didn't need to be in the film at all, and way too much that we've seen far too many times before, and not just in Trains, Planes, and Automobiles (of course that comparison is going to be made; this is merely a raunchy, sloppy update of the former).
You know there's a problem when a scene in which Zach G.'s character guest stars on an episode of Two and a Half Men is the funniest moment in the film. And, yes, to answer your question, he does play exactly the same character he played in The Hangover; only now he seems self-aware of what he did in the previous and is just trying to do the same, only much worse. A shame, too; he's still probably one of the funniest comedians/actors on the scene. But, we all have to make a buck. As they say, "Even Karl Marx had to pay for his beer."
Frankly, I just didn't get this film. I would actually compare it more to Road Trip than to PT&A, which makes sense considering the filmmaker. PT&A combined its comedy with great acting and heart/sincerity. Due Date doesn't even try in this department. Like Road Trip, It's just a scribbled laundry list of uninteresting, trite nonsense and du jour cameos.
The Hangover was a fluke. A hilarious and well-made fluke. But a fluke.
Oh, well. At least this mess wasn't two-and-a-half hours (Phillips has got something over Apatow there).
Due Date... has basically none of these elements. Sure, there are a few laughs here or there-- and I disagree with those who would say the funniest moments are in the trailer, as I didn't find the trailer very funny at all--but overall, this is what I would expect from a Todd Phillips film. The simple, basic, fratastic bilge that could only be funny to a bunch of thick-necked guys (or lanky Star Wars geeks wishing they were the former) who are wasted on flat beer and soggy potato chips. Yawn.
I don't know how he did it, but Phillips even got a bad performance out of Robert Downey Jr.
There were whole sequences that didn't need to be in the film at all, and way too much that we've seen far too many times before, and not just in Trains, Planes, and Automobiles (of course that comparison is going to be made; this is merely a raunchy, sloppy update of the former).
You know there's a problem when a scene in which Zach G.'s character guest stars on an episode of Two and a Half Men is the funniest moment in the film. And, yes, to answer your question, he does play exactly the same character he played in The Hangover; only now he seems self-aware of what he did in the previous and is just trying to do the same, only much worse. A shame, too; he's still probably one of the funniest comedians/actors on the scene. But, we all have to make a buck. As they say, "Even Karl Marx had to pay for his beer."
Frankly, I just didn't get this film. I would actually compare it more to Road Trip than to PT&A, which makes sense considering the filmmaker. PT&A combined its comedy with great acting and heart/sincerity. Due Date doesn't even try in this department. Like Road Trip, It's just a scribbled laundry list of uninteresting, trite nonsense and du jour cameos.
The Hangover was a fluke. A hilarious and well-made fluke. But a fluke.
Oh, well. At least this mess wasn't two-and-a-half hours (Phillips has got something over Apatow there).