Due Date

The elephant in the room, of course, is The Hangover which is one of the best comedies of the last decade or so. Due Date stars one of the stars of that film, Zach Galifianakis, and is also from the same writer / director. So, is it as good as The Hangover? Well, of course not. But did anyone really expect it to be? I tried to keep my expectations at a minimum so I wouldn't be disappointed. It sort of worked.
The story is simple - Peter (Robert Downey Jr.) is a first time expectant father and he is rushing home to Los Angeles from Atlanta for the scheduled C-section birth of his baby (with is the lovely and underused Michelle Monaghan). Well, he manages to get thrown off his plane thanks to a run in with a loony named Ethan (Galifianakis) who likes to throw around the words "terrorist" and "bomb" while on a plane. Not only do they get thrown off the plane, but also they find themselves on a do not fly list. It seems Peter's wallet with his credit cards and money is in his bag on the plane en route to Los Angeles so he can't even rent a car. Luckily though, Ethan can and they begin a road trip. Of course, craziness ensues - run ins with crazy pot dealers (Juliette Lewis) and crazier Western Union employees (Danny McBride) as well as car accidents and an ill fated trip to Mexico. Jamie Foxx shows up as Peter's bestie who may or may not have had an affair with his wife nine months ago. Also, Peter has a dog named Sonny, a cremated father in a coffee can (which they drink, of course) and wants to move to Hollywood to be an actor on Two and a Half Men, his favorite TV show.
So, that's the plot in a nut shell. Does it work? Sometimes. The film starts off insanely slow. In fact, the first half is a little boring. But it starts to get better (more laughs, better pacing) somewhere in eastern Texas. So, the second half is a whole lot better than the first. The ladies of the film are terribly underused. Foxx merely has a cameo. McBride does his same old funny asshole shtick (which I still love because I love him). So, ultimately this movie belongs to its leads and on that level, it most certainly works. These two guys have a chemistry together. Even though Galifianakis is playing a version of the same character he always does, he's still funny. I know a day is going to come when I get really sick of him, like Michael Cera, but that day hasn't arrived yet. All in all, Due Date is a lot of fun as long as you don't expect the greatness of The Hangover.
Grade: C

The Hangover, Land of the Lost, Taking of Pelham 123, Up

The Hangover - It's been a pretty great year for comedies. There was the bittersweet Adventureland and the laugh out loud I Love You, Man. Now there is The Hangover. And guess what? It's probably the best of this year's comedies (so far... I mean, Funny People is still on the way!). The movie starts at the end with three guys in the middle of the desert all worse for the wear. It seems they had a bachelor party misadventure and now they can't find the groom. Flash back two nights. The four guys check into a swanky Las Vegas hotel. They get dressed. They have a toast on the roof. Then... crazy stuff ensues. None of which we actually get to see. Instead, the film reopens on a trashed hotel suite. The couch is on fire. There's a chicken walking around. Ed Helms' dentist character is missing a tooth. There's a baby in the closet... and a tiger in the bathroom. Bradley Cooper's character has been in the hospital and, of course, the groom is nowhere to be seen. The movie is pretty straightforward - it sets out to answer what the hell happened. And it's all sometimes silly but always funny. Everyone - the director, the writers, the actors - are all really better than they have to be. When a movie is genuinely funny, it usually doesn't need to look particuarly good but this one most definitely does. It's a surprising film and it's definitely worth checking out.
Grade: B

Land of the Lost - Chalk it up to my love for Danny McBride but I was actually surprised that I didn't hate Land of the Lost. I thought it was going to be typical Will Ferrell stupidity... and it was sometimes. But for every terrible plot point and silly joke, there was something actually funny. McBride is a scene stealer, for sure and he got most of the best parts. Ferrell, Anna Friel and McBride travel through time and space and end up in a mysterious land full of dinosaurs and sleestacks and who knows what else. They must find a contraption that will get them home. The scene at the motel is one of the funniest things I've seen all year and, dare I say, funnier than anything in The Hangover. However, The Hangover sustains the laughs for the entire film... Land of the Lost, unfortunately, does not.
Grade: C

Taking of Pelham 123 - This remake sure is exciting. It also tries to be edgy and raw and rough and dirty. It just doesn't succeed at that all the time. The film follows Ryder (John Travolta), a disgruntled ex-con and ex-Wall Street genius who hijacks a Subway car. His hostage negotiations fall in the hands of Walter (Denzel Washington), a disgraced MTA employee. Ryder makes some demands, the two have a verbal tug of war. The movie is pretty fast paced and remains exciting for much of the film with the exception of a pretty boring stretch near the end. And director Tony Scott (of True Romance fame) tries to make things raw and dirty but you can only push the edginess so far in a studio film. Overall, Taking of Pelham 123 is a pretty decent way to spend an afternoon.
Grade: B-

Up - Up may be the most depressing kids movie ever made. The moral of the story, for me, is this: You dream big as a little kid and then you grow up and realize none of your dreams are ever giong to come true and everyone you love is going to die and you're going to be miserable and alone and then stuck in the middle of nowhere being followed around by an annoying kid, a creepy bird and a talking dog. Not really a kids movie. And while Up did seriously depress me (I'm not even kidding. I was near tears and not because it was heartwarming but because it made me realize how much life - mine and in general - sucks), it's still a pretty cute movie. I don't think it's as good as Wall-E but it is sweet and enjoyable and funny. And I'm finally not the only person in America who hasn't seen it.
Grade: B