ARTHUR'S MOVIE RATINGS

I don't presume to tell you whether or not you're going to like a movie or not--people have different tastes and like different things. The main purpose with the ratings given for movies here is to give you an idea of whether or not you should see it in the theater, wait for it to hit DVD, or skip it altogether. So if you want to break it down...

*****: AMAZING! Everyone should see this as soon as they possibly can!
****: GREAT! Worth every cent to go see it in the theater.
***: GOOD! May or may not be worth seeing in the theater, but definitely a solid choice for a rental.
**: DECENT. Not a horrible movie, but it's not a bad choice for a rental.
*: BAD. Do not watch this movie. Well, you could, but I wouldn't advise it.

06 November 2010

Due Date

RATING:*** (3 stars)

When a stressed-out father-to-be gets put on a no-fly list, he ends up taking a cross-country jaunt with the aspiring actor who got him put on the no-fly list.

There has been a lot of buzz recently over Due Date, in no small part because of the trailers loaded with choice bits of comedy from the film. As expected, the story focuses on Peter Highman (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) and the many misadventures they have from the moment they meet as they travel to Los Angeles for the birth of Peter's first child. The story is pretty straight-forward, our two characters meet briefly outside the airport, get put on a no-fly list shortly thereafter, and share a rental car as they both travel halfway across the country to California.

While there is plenty of comedy to be had here, much of it feels forced. The story seems to serve only as a vechicle to take us from one ridiculous situation to the next, where there will be similar-but-different hijinks going on. This is not to say that you won't laugh--there is plenty to laugh at in Due Date. You might feel a bit swindled that much of the best comedic moments were in the trailers and that you've already seen them, but otherwise there is some good comedy here.

Maybe not worth theatre money, but definitely worth a rental. Also as a note to parents, plenty of marijuana jokes and smoking on-screen.

Trailer