R-Rated Road Trip Comedy With Marvel’s Biggest Star Ever Is Being Lost For New Fans

Todd Phillips directed Due Date, after writing the screenplay with the assistance of King of the Hill writers Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, as well as Black Adam scribe Adam Sztykiel. Phillips has referred to the film as a much needed reprieve from the stress of helming The Hangover, taking on Due Date just before directing the sequel The Hangover 2.

Likewise, Robert Downey Jr. has praised the simple and calming production of Due Date as one of the most glorious moments in his acting career.

The plot of Due Date centers on Peter Highman and Ethan Tremblay, a pair of wayward strangers who are placed on the No Fly List after accidentally getting into an altercation on an airplane.

Peter is a stuck-up, perpetually grouchy architect, while Ethan is an obnoxious man-child with absolutely no social filter. After they are both grounded in Atlanta, Peter begrudgingly agrees to share a rental car with Ethan, as they both intend to drive to Los Angeles under time pressure.

Ethan, who is traveling with a coffee can full of his deceased father’s ashes, intends to spread his dad’s remains across the Grand Canyon before traveling to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actor.

Peter, by contrast, needs to make it back to his Los Angeles home, as his wife is pregnant with their first child and the due date is only days away. With the clock set and the social tension flaring between the odd couple, they hit the road for one of the most off-the-wall road trips ever committed to film.

Over the course of Due Date‘s tight 95 minute run-time, Peter and Ethan encounter issues with a violent paraplegic who runs a Western Union, a pair of no-nonsense border patrol agents, and multiple car accidents which leave Peter progressively more banged-up and scratched as they travel.

If you’ve ever wanted to watch Robert Downey Jr. lose his cool and completely unload on a well-meaning idiot, this is the ideal movie for you, as RDJ’s tantrums are the stuff of legends.

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While the film performed well at the box office, it was critically panned, with critics complaining that Due Date was far too similar to other road trip films such as Planes Trains and Automobiles or Hollywood Or Bust. The film made $211 million at the global box office against an estimated production budget of $65 million. The poor critical reception of Due Date was one of the final straws for director Todd Phillips, who later swore off of making straightforward comedies, and has now committed to crafting films such as War Dogs and Joker.

If you’re interested in checking out Due Date, unfortunately, the film is not currently streaming on any major service. Still, it’s well worth buying or renting if you can find it, as it comes jam-packed with side-splitting laughs.