SYNOPSIS: Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is an expectant first-time father whose wife's due date is a mere five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at her side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan--on what turns out to be a cross-country road trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, numerous friendships and Peter's last nerve. 

REVIEW: 

Peter Highman: If I miss the birth of my own child, I'm gonna choke you out with your own scarf. Wrap that thing 'round your head, and choke you out. 
Ethan Tremblay: Sounds a bit... drastic.

Drastic is this movie’s middle name. But then again, if it weren’t as drastic as it is, it wouldn’t be nearly as funny as it is. First off, talk about an odd couple. Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is a successful architect who has an affinity for detail; ergo he is an uptight control freak who is on a deadline. Watch out! Circumstances beyond his control pitted him together with his complete opposite. Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) is a free spirit, fly by the seat of his pants, actor wannabe who has really, really rubbed Peter the wrong way. Actually, I think Oscar and Felix probably got along better than these two if you can believe that. Robert and Zach were very well cast for these roles because they show a strong contrast. Robert is quick-witted, fast and sharp. Zach in comparison is slow and blunt. Both are incredibly funny in this film, but Zach has a slight edge because his character and his character’s antics are more comical. Zach is excellent at playing kooky crazy slash idiotic, as we have all come to learn from his repertoire. Robert’s strong point is his snappy line delivery, and he delivers. There are some small, almost cameo style supporting performances that also helped make this movie enjoyable. Juliette Lewis has mastered the art of playing white trash or a variation of it. Here she plays a self proclaimed pharmacist of sorts and she conveniently operates right from her own home. Danny McBride is one of those modern day, really off the wall comedians and he plays a Western Union employee. I don’t want to give away too much about his scene but let’s just say that it was crazy and only someone like him could pull it off. It was interesting to see Jamie Foxx in this picture as Darryl, close friend of Peter and his wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan). He didn’t contribute a whole lot of comedy, but the scenes that involve him and just the existence of his character do contribute plenty. So what about Michelle you ask? Well, yeah, she is a very pretty woman, yeah. (Unfortunately she really doesn’t do much in this movie). And let us not forget another successful contributor of comedy to this unsettling film . . . the dog. Ah yes, Ethan’s boy, Sonny, a beautiful French bulldog, Priscilla’s favorite. He was great.

This movie has a good amount of LOL moments along with a few WTF moments. It was interesting to hear the combination of laughter and gasps from the audience. So yeah, you will laugh and hard at times but the movie as a whole is predictable and lacks some depth. It could be that the story is just too simple. This is your typical, what I like to call Murphy’s Law comedy where everything that can go wrong does. It does have some nice scenery and camera shots at times throughout the drive though, I’ll give it that. So just take the movie at face value and like me, you’ll get exactly what you’re expecting. Or look at it this way, if you liked Road Trip, Old School, Starsky and Hutch, School for Scoundrels, and/or The Hangover (all directed by Todd Phillips) then chances are you will like this one because it falls right into place with the Todd Phillips collection of comedies, just not first place though.