Due Date

Desperate to return home to Los Angeles in time for the birth of his child, a father-to-be (Robert Downey Jr.) misses his plane out of Atlanta and has to hitch a ride with the nitwit who caused his problem in the first place (Zach Galifianakis, Hollywood’s obnoxious oaf du jour). This is one of those “comedies” that tries to get laughs out of things that would make you mad if they happened to you, and neither director Todd Phillips nor the script (by Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel and Phillips) have the wit to pull it off. It’s really a two-character show (with tip-in cameos by Michelle Monaghan as Downey’s wife and Jamie Foxx as a pal). Downey is slumming and looks like he knows it, while Galifianakis is cashing in before his 15 minutes of fame run out (which won’t be a minute too soon).