'Due Date': The Reviews Are In! - MTV.com

"I think pressure is always a good thing," director Todd Phillips told us a few months ago. "A lot of guys make a big hit movie on the size of 'The Hangover' and they get gun-shy. They wait a few years, ... and I wanted to do the opposite. I wanted to do something again and not worry if it was going to be as big as 'The Hangover' because 'The Hangover' was lightning in a bottle."

That, it was. "The Hangover" opened to $45 million in June 2009 on its way to becoming the #1 R-rated comedy of all time. And rather than drown in unrealistic expectations — or the swimming pool full of gold coins he could have built with the proceeds from "Hangover" — Phillips grabbed his old buddy Zach Galifianakis, threw Robert Downey Jr. into the mix, and came up with "Due Date."

The comedy, as observers might expect, won't do nearly the business "Hangover" did. But "Due Date" will end up with a hefty opening weekend — anything from a high-$20 million gross to a mid-$30 million one — marking a seriously impressive return to the big screen for Phillips.

Before heading to the theater this weekend, check out what critics are saying about "Due Date":

The Story

Downey plays Peter, a high-handed guy whose wife (Michelle Monaghan) is about to have a baby. He's headed home to Los Angeles after a business trip to Atlanta. But, as bad luck would have it, Peter collides with goony Ethan (Galifianakis). Disbelief must be suspended when Peter makes it through airport security in inadvertent possession of Ethan's marijuana (allegedly for his glaucoma). As Peter, Downey insists, 'I've never done drugs in my life,' a line that is all the funnier given Downey's past. Officials confiscate the drug, Peter is allowed to board the flight. But after an onboard ruckus involving Ethan's protruding hairy belly, he and Ethan are tossed off and onto the no-fly list. Peter now must make the cross-country trip by car to arrive in time to see his baby born. But thanks to more contrived shenanigans, he has no credit card to rent a car. Ethan, however, manages to get a rental car, and the next thing you know, the two are sharing the front seat." — Claudia Puig, USA Today

The Performances

"Playing to type as Ethan, Galifianakis, the ginger-bearded bear of a boy who shot to fame as the odd-duck brother of the bride in 'The Hangover,' is funny not because he is boorish but because he is immune to embarrassment. Playing against type as Peter, arbiter of appropriateness, Downey is funny because in spite of his character's carefully managed rage, he loses control at the most inappropriate times." — Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Laughs

"Not all the jokes work, but when they do, it's due to the perfect comic timing and chemistry that keeps you invested in this odd couple. While many of the best gags may be given away by the commercials, there is more than enough other things to explore in their relationship with a surprising amount of warmth and heart that makes it feel like a far more mature effort on Phillips' part. Ultimately, 'Due Date' may not be nearly as clever as 'The Hangover' and its attempt to solve a 'night before' mystery, but it is a fairly satisfying film on its own merits, a fun experience that's more than just an endless stream of jokes." — Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net

The Dissenters

"The basic problem is the script, which is credited to three writers plus the director — seldom a good sign. Never mind that it's a retread of 'Planes, Trains & Automobiles' minus the trains, and minus John Candy. Retreads can hold the road, but this one doesn't, despite some sporadically funny stuff. What, for example, are we to make of Ethan, confronted for the first time by the Grand Canyon, saying 'I could've sworn I read it was man-made'? Or mistaking Mexico for Texaco after getting himself and Peter high on cannabis clouds in the confines of their car? Jokes like these leave you yearning for less." — Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

The Final Word

"The unexpected pairing of Galifianakis and Downey is a pleasure — they're an unlikely duo so off in their chemistry as to be bizarrely on. At this point in his singular career, Downey has shaped his disarming self-aware F-U stare to perfection, while Galifianakis has a knack for making his eyes simultaneously convey exasperating insensitivity and exasperating blamelessness. The two men seem to fascinate each other. But Atlanta to L.A. is a long drive, during which Phillips can't decide whether to go for the raunchy (lots of masturbation jokes) or the mushy (Ethan really loved his simple old dad, but Peter has more conflicting emotions about his). And so by the time the pair admire the Grand Canyon (time for major mush) and then arrive at the hospital where Wifey is in labor (time for mush plus jokes), 'Due Date' has lost its way, relying on its leading men to lead by charisma alone, even though their characters have nowhere interesting to go besides the happily-ever-after of dull, responsible male maturity." — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Check out everything we've got on "Due Date."

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'127 Hours,' more EW reviews

FNL's final season begins with one person staying put and others moving on.

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'Jackass 3D': The Reviews Are In! - MTV.com

The first two "Jackass" flicks shotgunned their way to the top of the box office. "Jackass 3D" will probably be no different. The only question should be if the third of Johnny Knoxville's stunt-heavy movies can top the opening of his second.

"Jackass Number Two" bowed to $29 million on over 3,000 screens in 2006. "Jackass 3D," by contrast, is set to screen in about 30 more theaters, and comes with an inflated ticket price, thanks to its third dimension. Some box-office experts are predicting the new movie will gross upwards of $30 million, which would make it the first film to cross that plateau since "The Expendables" in mid-August. Other B.O. authorities expect "Jackass" to land in the mid-to-high $20 million range.

Where the movie ends up at the end of the weekend will likely depend on its word-of-mouth. Here's what the critics are saying about "Jackass 3D."

The Story

"Like the show that inspired it, 'Jackass 3D' has no narrative. Rather, it's comprised of a nonstop series of stunts, pranks and stupid tricks that the now-established ensemble of idiots play on each other, and seemingly as often, themselves. Their leader, as always, is the indefatigable Johnny Knoxville, who subjects himself to many of the worst stunts despite being the one who most often gets the most injured. Meanwhile, there's Steve-O and Chris Pontius, stars of the 'Jackass' spin-off 'Wildboyz,' both of whom are still game to tackle whatever Knoxville makes them eat, wear, or in Pontius' case, not wear. Bam Margera is also back, terrorizing his parents Phil and April, as are his cohorts Dave England, Ehren McGheghey and Ryan Dunn. And then there's Preston Lacy and Wee Man, whose contrast in physical size continues to be a great source of humor." — Todd Gilchrist, Cinematical

The Laughs:

"[N]ovelty has never been a prerequisite for hilarity with this franchise, and 'Jackass 3D,' like its forerunners, offers the spectacle of comedy pared down to its barest essence, stripped of the distractions of motivation, purpose and narrative. There's a certain purity to the way these jokers relentlessly pursue their oral/anal fixations, and their eagerness to degrade themselves is curiously ennobling. The troupe's likability goes a long way toward making it all go down easy; even their socially transgressive stunts, as when Knoxville dons his familiar dirty-old-man prosthetics, never approach Sacha Baron Cohen levels of mean-spirited anarchy." — Justin Chang, Variety

The 3-D

"The 3D is utilized exactly as it should be for a 'Jackass' movie. For the majority of the film, it is lowbrow, over the top, and in your face. This is not an intimate exploration of the world of the Na'vi, this is a balls in your face, puke-fest. The opening and closing sequences, however, are strangely beautiful, even in their ludicrous hilarity. Fans will particularly enjoy the footage from the original series, and childhood photos of the boys, that run throughout the credit sequence." — Roth Cornet, ScreenRant

The Dissenters

"The element of half-crazed, death-defying danger that was present in all previous 'Jackass' endeavors has faded, perhaps pushed out of the picture by girlfriends and wives and kids who, incidentally you'll see glimpses of during the movie's sappy, family photos themed closing credits. ... Still, there's plenty of pain, mostly in the form of ball punching, and Knoxville does do a quick run around a ring pursued by an angry bull. But none of it really feels as dangerous and on the edge as it once did. All that's really left of the Jackass facade is the ability to be gross and, getting old or not, they've still got that down." — Josh Tyler, Cinema Blend

The Final Word

" 'Jackass' stands apart from similar shows and imitators because of the particular personalities involved, and because of the surreal sensibility that has always been such a big part of the show. Anyone can do a physical stunt, but these guys always build a context around the joke that takes it two or three steps beyond. And during the closing moments of the film, as they essentially unleash a soundstage apocalypse, leading into a closing credits sequence set to Weezer's 'Memories' that features footage from the full decade they've been shooting, there's a poignancy I wouldn't have expected from 'Jackass.' Ever. I think it's because we've watched these guys get older without growing up one little bit, and since we can't all get away with that, there is a freedom and, yes, a beauty to watching someone else pull it off." — Drew McWeeny, HitFix

Check out everything we've got on "Jackass 3D."

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15 scathing book reviews

FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen
''...a 576-page monument to insignificance.'' — The Atlantic, October 2010

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