The movie that gave Robert Downey Jr a high he’s been chasing ever since: “I just love it so much”
In 2008, the movie world changed forever as the release of Iron Man ushered in a new golden age for superhero cinema, kickstarting the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the obsession with comic book culture that we still very much find ourselves in.
It also had a major impact on the life and career of Robert Downey Jr. Previously written off as a troubled young star who’d burned all his bridges, Tony Stark gave the actor a new lease of life and allowed him to climb to the very top of the Hollywood pyramid.
A few years after this career rebirth, Downey teamed up with director Todd Phillips for a comedy road movie called Due Date, revolving around Peter (Downey), a man attempting to get across the country in time to witness the birth of his first child. His plans are helped/hindered by Ethan Tremblay, played hilariously by Zack Galifianakis, an aspiring actor with a heart of gold, but a brain of mush. Think Planes, Trains and Automobiles meets The Hangover, the latter of which Phillips also directed.
Due Date made a decent splash at the box office, although perhaps not as much as people were expecting. On the critical front, it was deemed subpar by most, with many reviews citing a lack of originality and unfunny set pieces as major issues. It does have one high-profile fan, however. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2011, Downey had nothing but nice things to say about this odd couple road trip.
“I am crazy about this movie,” he revealed, “I just love it so much. Like Bradley Cooper in The Hangover, I’m playing an aspect of Todd Phillips, an uptight, anxious, controlling aspect. The missus has seen this side of me too. This became one of the most privately joyful experiences in history. It had what all of my favourite comedies have: a real emotional resonance.”
Downey has spoken numerous times about how much he loved working with Phillips. It’s interesting that the star made a connection between Peter and Phil Wenneck, Cooper’s character in The Hangover. There doesn’t seem to be any analysis out there that either character is directly influenced by Phillips, but there’s every chance that both actors took inspiration from their director. Both are uptight, well-groomed straight men trying to deal with Galifianakis, so they are very similar in that respect.
In that same article, Downey spoke about feeling like he’d reached the pinnacle of comedic acting. He called Due Date and Tropic Thunder “the best of both worlds” and wondered what kind of funny movie he could make next. In fact, he hasn’t made another straight-up comedy since.
The next decade and a half of his career were taken up almost exclusively by Marvel. The closest he came to making a comedy was Doolittle, which was about as funny as a prostate exam.
With Downey now fully back in the Marvel throng, it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting his return to comedy any time soon. If Due Date is his final comedy for a while, at least he went out doing something that he really loved.
