Due Date
(2010/Warner Brothers Blu-ray & DVD combo pack)
Picture:
B/C Sound: B/C+
Extras: C Film: C+
Due Date is a passable comedy from Todd
Phillips, whose prior directing work within the genre can be seen in the
features Road Trip and Old School. Zach Galifianakis is on board for a second
time, having worked with the director in one of his more recent comedies, The Hangover. Being a fan of Galifianakis' standup, I
personally felt that he wasn't given enough of an opportunity to shine the last
time around, despite audience response finding him to be one of The Hangover's standout personalities.
Now
pushed to the foreground, he shares top billing here with Robert Downey Jr., as
they play unwillingly joined traveling partners trying to reach L.A. The film draws on the
1987 Steve Martin and John Candy vehicle, Planes,
Trains & Automobiles for inspiration foremost in the comic road movies
category, but stops short of copying it note for note. Still, comparisons are inevitable, and in this
case, the original wins out.
Curiously,
while this edition includes a bare bones DVD of the film (as well as a digital
copy, contained on the same disc), any advertisement of their inclusion was
absent from the copy I received. If this
holds true for other copies of the film in circulation, it leads me to believe
that this additional content is planned to be packed with the Blu-ray only in
the short-term.
Picture
quality of the Blu-ray disc is excellent, and sees the film presented in 1080p
high definition with an anamorphically enhanced aspect ratio of 2.4:1. The Blu-ray sound is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD
Master Audio. The DVD features an aspect
ratio of 1.77:1 and a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound mix. Picture on the lesser format is noticeably
lower in quality, but as a bonus disc it looks just fine. Bonus content is fairly weak, and consists
mostly of deleted scenes and clip mash-up compilations.
The film
has its share of laughs, and while not as off the wall as Todd Phillips earlier
output, this still comes as recommended viewing, if only for a rental.
- David Milchick
