A comedy teaming up Robert Downey Jr with Zach Galifianakis. Directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Road Trip, Old School).
The story: a man has to get across the country in time for the birth of his child, but he gets kicked off the plane and put on the no fly list nad now has to make a road trip with a biggest pain the butt you can imagine.
Was it good?
Almost. It was okay, and there were a few funny moments, but it never really soared. There are two basic problems: there are long periods without any funny jokes and the goals of the film and emotion just feel weak. This means that you get some laughs, but there are here-and-there laughs, not laugh-after-laugh-after-laugh and while it's a road trip I didn't really care about the destination -- Downey getting to see the birth didn't seem like a big deal and Galifianakis wants to spread his father's ashes, but again it didn't seem like a big deal. There is also a subplot where Downey might suspect his wife of having an affair, but again it comes out of nowhere and doesn't go anywhere.
What the film does have going for it are Downey Jr and Galifianakis, two actors who are incredibly watchable. They can be amusing just sitting around. They help elevate this very uneven work into something watchable.
Honestly, Phillips earlier films -- THE HANGOVER, ROAD TRIP and OLD SCHOOL -- while all stupid, silly films, were better as comedies. I'd recommend any of them over this one, but this is worth a rental.
*** RENTAL ***
Recommend more: like I said the earlier films were better -- OLD SCHOOL, ROAD TRIP and THE HANGOVER all had bigger, better laughs.
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