Due Date disappoints

Father-to-be Peter (Robert Downey Jr.) winds up on a no-fly list at the hands of epic nincompoop Ethan (Zach Galifianakis), days before the birth of his child on the opposite coast. Director Todd Phillips has devoted his career to refreshing portrayals of American dickhole men and their trials and tribulations, without prejudice or sympathy: Downey (as the high-strung everyman) and Galifianakis (as a pathetic dandy) adhere to the canon. However, Due Date conforms by forcing character growth and change upon the true-of-heart non-conformist Ethan. It is, in fact, Downey’s character--- who sees red and loses himself in the circles of his rage---that needs to check himself before he gets wrecked. Due Date doesn’t dig at the irony of the everyman with crackling discontent.