spoilers

This is one of those movies which you see and forget in few days. Why? Because everything you have to see in this one you will see on a trailer. The funniest scenes and the best dialogues are already there, so after you've seen the movie, you ask yourself, did I see something new here. Well, I wouldn't give this one a 6,5 and then state that there is nothing more to it, but basically the greatest scenes have been used in its trailer. This is the case with most movies, especially comedies, but there have been some great ones which plot has developed outside their trailer, such as The Hangover, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Death at a Funeral and few more, being the minority of good comedies made in last 2 or 3 years.

This movie relies upon its actors, which imo made an excellent job here. Zack Galifianakis proved to be a great comedian, with his portrayal of Ethan Chase, a.k.a. Ethan Tremblay, a lonely misfit, wannabe actor who travels to Hollywood to pursue his dream. After a list of bad circumstances, he rents a car and offers a ride across country to a passenger he met on the plane to California. The passenger is Peter Highman, an architect who must get to Los Angeles to the birth of his first child. Ethan is actually responsible for the fact Peter can't travel by plane and tries to recompensate by offering him this ride. Peter is a complete opposite of funny, clumsy and good hearted Ethan, who has a great number of hilarious problems. He is serious, cold and really not fond of chatting with strangers who seem to be a little off edge.

During their trip to California, they get into a series of trouble and meet many interesting people. There have been some great situations and scenes here, but I think there have been some which were filmed only to emphasise that this is a comedy. But, we know that and we figured it out, so some parts of the movie have been really unnecessary, such as the scene with the man in wheelchair, the whole Mexico thing and the not so funny thing about Ethan's dog Sonny, which besides that is a great accessoire in this movie. On the other hand, the story about Ethan's father, his problem with glucomma and especially his theory about Peter's wife and best friend and some lines by Zack Galifianakis are the reason you should watch this movie. He is definitely the best thing here, because although he can often be very irritating, he has such a lovable face and look in his eyes, that you simply must forget everything he does and forgive him, which in the end Peter manages to do.

I've seen most movies by Todd Phillips and I must say that most of them rely on excellent actors, great storyline and few amusing scenes, but the thing that overpowers all those great facts is the so called toilet humor, which some people might like and some don't find that amusing. I have nothing against it and although this movie doesn't have so many scenes with that type of humor, there is still something that lacks in this one to be considered a great comedy.

And finally, a 6,5 for this one because of its great cast, some really funny parts and the soundtrack which is one of the best things in all Phillips' movies. Thumbs up for Pink Floyd and the scene in the car and Band of Horses and the wonderful sequence of the landscape and the beauty of a road trip.

LovelyT