Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Due Date Scuttlebutt

So many films have been about a road trip, that’s it’s basically become its own sub-genre now. From It Happened One Night to National Lampoon’s Vacation, audiences have been given dozens of movies centering around characters trying to make their way from Point A to Point B and the obstacles they must overcome to get there. Some are successful (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) while others (Due Date) are not.

Very early on, Automobiles and Due Date were compared and said to be similar by many critics. When they said that they were “basically the same movie”, they weren’t kidding. While I wouldn’t say the latter necessarily copied the former, they are very alike. Unfortunately for Due Date, they could have easily used Automobiles’ good characteristics and used it to their advantage. Instead, they used a similarly thin plot to drive the main action of the film, but without the heart or wit of Automobiles. Both are driven by the same simple plot (Tightly wound, straight faced man is forced to travel with an annoying, simple-minded individual across the country), but Due Date’s is a bit more unbelievable. While Automobiles features incredibly coincidental circumstances, Due Date is a lot more worried about being funny than enduring, the most doubtful instance being the escape from the Mexican police. Automobiles is a bit more grounded and realistic and while that doesn’t necessarily make for a better movie (especially in the case of a comedy), I appreciated it more in this instance.

The biggest thing for me was the difference between Zack Galifianakis and John Candy. They’re technically the antagonists in the film, even though they’re assisting the main character in reaching their goal. They’re the ones ultimately challenging the protagonist to overcome something in a comedy, therefore, they’re the ones driving the funny. With Candy, he’s a little annoying and a bit obnoxious, but his character is undeniably sweet and charming. He’s a good soul and it’s only because Martin’s character is so high strung that it’s difficult for the two to get along. In Due Date, Galifianakis is a complete moron. He’s an unfortunate waste of space and air and even Helen Keller would find it almost impossible to comfortably share a two hour movie with him, much less a 700 mile car ride. He’s impossible to like, and yet, he’s the force behind the comedy and the jokes, so why wouldn’t the filmmakers make him likeable?!

Overall, these two films share many similarities, but it’s the endearing nature of John Candy that triumphs and makes Planes, Trains and Automobiles much better than Due Date.