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Robert Downey Jr.’s Forgotten Road Trip Adventure Is Officially a Global Streaming Hit
Robert Downey Jr.'s 2011 comedy Due Date, directed by Todd Phillips, has become a surprise hit on streaming, drawing renewed global attention 15 years after its cinema release. The film, part of Phillips's broader filmography that includes The Hangover trilogy, Joker and War Dogs, had largely faded from mainstream conversation before finding a fresh audience through streaming platforms.
The story follows Peter Highman (Downey Jr.), a high-strung architect racing to get home from Atlanta to Los Angeles in time for the birth of his first child. After an airport mix-up caused by fellow traveller Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) gets them both placed on the no-fly list, Peter loses his luggage and wallet and is forced into a chaotic cross-country road trip with Ethan and his French bulldog.
In short
- Due Date (2011) is now a streaming success worldwide
- Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis star in the road-trip comedy
- Todd Phillips directed; part of his broader Hangover-era filmography
Explained simply
Due Date is a 2011 comedy film that follows an architect trying to reach Los Angeles in time for the birth of his first child. When an airport mix-up forces him and a fellow traveller onto a no-fly list, he loses his wallet and luggage. The pair are forced into an unlikely cross-country road trip together, accompanied by a French bulldog, which forms the basis of the film's humour.
The film was directed by Todd Phillips, the filmmaker behind The Hangover trilogy and the 2019 film Joker. It starred Robert Downey Jr. as the frustrated architect and Zach Galifianakis as his chaotic travel companion. Though it received a theatrical release in 2011, the film subsequently faded from mainstream public attention.
The film has recently experienced renewed popularity through streaming platforms, attracting a new audience more than a decade after its original cinema release. This demonstrates how older films can find fresh viewers via streaming, even when they have largely disappeared from public consciousness.
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