Due Date

Because the only thing better than striking gold is doing the exact same thing and striking gold again, we're being given 'Due Date' from Todd Phillips, director of 'The Hangover.'

I say that he is repeating himself because in 'Due Date' we're being given another Zach Galifianakis performance that, from the trailer, is pretty much exactly the same character he played in 'Hangover.' Maybe Phillips is going the Kevin Smith route and building an inter-connected universe for his films where characters and events cross over from film to film.

A little evidence to support this theory is that in Phillips' first true hit, 'Old School,' a deleted scene has a creepy pervert character showing up at the heroes' house asking if he is in the right place for the "gang bang." In 'Hangover' this same character appears in an elevator giving a woman some oral pleasure before the four dudes get on board and ride to the roof. Also, this character is played by Phillips.

But I digress...

In 'Due Date,' Roberty Downey Jr. and Zach Galeoiueoeievkj play two mis-matched guys who are somehow stuck together on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles. Downey is the straight man while GalskdjldzjnmxcnnaiakdjhkJd plays the famous Phillips role of man-child, made even more apparent than ever before when Downey tells Galsadljhaosdid11-091-928093 to go to the bathroom before they leave a gas station and the reply is: "You're right. I need to pee-pee."

The trailer starts off strong with no wink to the fact that it is a comedy. The two heroes avoid a rain-storm and Downey is sharing a deeply personal tale about the last time he saw his father. The trailer lurches into gear when the response to this is inappropriate laughter, followed by the declaration, "My Dad would never do that. He loves me." It's a good start.

From there it falls into standard road movie/buddy comedy territory which shows various instances of them getting on each others' nerves and finding ways to get even with one another, the most humorous of which is when the two are hitching a ride with Jamie Foxx (whaaaa??) and Downey (in the passenger seat) commands Foxx (the driver) to hit a drainage ditch at high speed so that it will disrupt the peaceful truck-bed ride for Zach Galifianakis. The result is a good sight-gag.

While funny, ultimately the trailer does little to make itself look all that amazing. Its' premise isn't particularly interesting, but that's not really the point, is it? For movies like this, all we need is a set-up and knowledge of the actors in the film. The rest takes care of itself.

I suspect the reason for this is one of two things:

1) The movie just isn't very good and the trailer-makers are doing their best.

or

2) The movie is ridiculously hilarious and the fact that all green-band previews are required to be rated PG has limited the amount of vulgar hilarity that can be shown.

I suspect it's probably the second. After all, 'Old School,' 'The Hangover' and even Phillips' first hit 'Road Trip' are hard-R comedies that make good use of their ratings.

This trailer alone leaves me curiously hollow, and if not for my pre-existing knowledge of Phillips' body of work, and the fact that Robert Downey Jr. can (almost) do no wrong, I would be giving this a "Maybe on TNT."

Until next time!