Due Date stars Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis as an odd couple traveling across the country. Peter Highman (Downey) has been put on the no-fly list, and he has to get from Atlanta to L.A. for the birth of his child. Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis) is an aspiring actor, and a complete idiot.

I went into this movie with very low expectations. After reading the reviews, I was disappointed. I expected much more from the people who did the Hangover. However, I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the entire movie. There were actually points where I missed parts because I was laughing so hard.

I believe that there are two main reasons that people didn’t like the movie. First of all, Due Date is the first movie that Todd Phillips has worked on since The Hangover. Due Date is experiencing what I call “the sequel effect.” The sequel effect is when the sequel to a great movie is compared to the original, and it’s never considered as good. Obviously, this isn’t as good as The Hangover, but it’s a good movie that gives us something to bide our time with until The Hangover 2.

As stated earlier, Zach Galifianakis’ character is an idiot. What most reviews boil down to is their tolerance of his character. If you are like me, and you watch shows like The Office, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Seinfeld, then you have been exposed to this type of character. Subsequently, you will be able to tolerate Zach Galifianakis’ character and you will like this movie. If you don’t watch these shows, you won’t be able to tolerate him.

Pertaining to the script, this movie emphasizes the comedic genius involved. And let me be clear, this is comedic genius. However, the underlying message is lackluster, or maybe even non-existent. The emphasis of the entire story is to make you laugh, and right now, that’s entirely all right. There are so few comedies in theatres that people should enjoy this while they can.

Besides the two leads, Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, It’s Kind of A Funny Story), the biggest star is the dog. Sure, Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Gone, Baby, Gone) and Jamie Foxx (Law Abiding Citizen, The Soloist) co-star on paper, but truthfully, Jamie Foxx is in it for about five to seven minutes and Michelle Monaghan comes in and out for seconds at a time. The only real “cast” consists of Downey Jr. and Galifianakis.

All in all, a hilarious movie, and worth your while, but don’t go in there expecting to learn anything at all. Just go in and enjoy yourselves.

Plus, it might be helpful to view the TV programs mentioned to you if you haven’t seen any of them. Look for the following characters, respectfully: Michael Scott (Steve Carell on The Office), Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock), Larry David (he plays himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm) and George Costanza (Jason Alexander on Seinfeld).