Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with a woman
Due Date with a woman
Why I Saw This: Good cast and nothing else came out this week that I wanted to see.
Cast: I've loved Melissa McCarthy since Gilmore Girls and was thrilled by her star-turn in Bridesmaids. When she riffs, I could watch for hours. Jason Bateman is the best straight man in the business. If I ever need someone to play against a comedian's manic energy and stabilize it while not diminishing it, I'm getting him. He could sleep his way through this and still be great at it. Most of the rest of the cast is one of those TV comedy star amalgamations that you tend to see more often these days. John Cho plays, believe it or not, the boss at a company who is only ever seen in a suit. Eric Stonestreet is a cowboy (I find it funny how all the movie roles I see him in are an over-correction for Cam. See: Bad Teacher). T.I. even has a part although it seems like they wrote it in when they heard he was interested in being in it. Seriously, he doesn't fit at all (which is a shame because he wasn't all that bad).
Plot: This movie is like a lot of movies, as you can see by my formula. I'm almost wondering if there is some sort of screenplay template that floats around Hollywood and gets produced every few years.
Normal, serious guy goes on a cross country road trip with eccentric stranger due to something that has to do with family. Are they being chased? Y/N. Why can't they get on a plane? etc.
I don't begrudge the template if it is well executed. The thing is, there had to be an easier way for this one. The identity theft angle is funny, but I get the feeling that they started with that idea and stuck to it regardless of if it worked or not. There's was too much work to get to McCarthy and Bateman in a car together and to stay that way and the friendship is in now way plausible. McCarthy plays a bad person who has done bad things for years. I'm all for some redemption of her, but they went too far with it.
Elephant in the Room: So...was it funny? This is a comedy, not Citizen Kane, so I shouldn't really harp too much on if the plot doesn't work. It isn't meant to be taken too seriously. I laughed. I laughed a good deal. I won't deny that. Much like the director's last movie, Horrible Bosses, they were laughs of diminished returns. The philosophy of the movie seems to be, when a laugh is in doubt, make it slapstick. McCarthy and Bateman hitting each other is funny, so they do it over and over and over again. It's always funny, but a little less each time.
To Sum Things Up:
Like Horrible Bosses, there's an audience for this movie and I'm sad to say that it doesn't include me. It's forgettable, painless, and a little too long. It's one of those scripts that could've used a few more drafts and some people won't mind that as much. I can understand anyone enjoying this. I can't say I'd understand anyone loving it. Does that make sense?
No?
Well, fuck.
It is exactly what you expect it will be. Maybe a little less. You can quote me on that.
Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend
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