Trailer Trash (The Alan Movie Edition)

Todd Phillips and company hit gold in 2009 with The Hangover, a movie often proclaimed the funniest in recent memory. (I really liked it, but for me 2008's Tropic Thunder. has yet to be topped since.) The Hangover became the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time, and what to do as a follow-up? Go down the same basic path.



I'm not expecting a great deal from Due Date, unlike most of the known universe. I certainly don't think it will be bad, but certainly more run-of-the-mill than The Hangover. Galifanakis is essentially playing Alan again, albeit with more of the spotlight in him, which is perfectly fine. I'm looking forward to seeing him stretch his acting muscles a little more in the near future.

The big addition here, obviously, is Robert Downey, Jr. who can just about nail any part handed to him in his usual Downey way. He is one of the most watchable mainstream actors going, and while he won't be winning any Oscars here his screen presence will be enjoyable as always. I'm predicting a lot of great chemistry between Downey and Galifanakis. The supporting cast is also relatively impressive, including Juliette Lewis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx and Alan Arkin.

I give Phillips credit for The Hangover, but I think that the cast was the biggest thing the film had going for it. That looks to be the situation here as well, even though Due Date appears to be wonderfully shot. What I'm most worried about is that the screenplay has gone through four writers, which is never a good sign. Phillips is one of them, the rest include Adam Sztykiel (Made of Honor), Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland (American Dad!, King of the Hill). Freedland and Cohen get the credit for the story, but when you have a cast like this, I don't know how much of a screenplay you actually need.