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Due Date
Movie

Due Date

2010 • Unknown

Woke Score
3
out of 10

Plot

Peter Highman must scramble across the US in five days to be present for the birth of his first child. He gets off to a bad start when his wallet and luggage are stolen, and put on the 'no-fly' list. Peter embarks on a terrifying journey when he accepts a ride from an actor.

Overall Series Review

The 2010 film "Due Date" is an archetypal R-rated road trip comedy that predates the modern ideological trends of the "woke mind virus." The film's entire plot revolves around the male protagonist, Peter Highman, desperately trying to get across the country to be present for the birth of his first child, anchoring the narrative firmly to the nuclear family unit and the importance of fatherhood. The central dynamic is a personality clash between two white men, a stressed-out executive and an eccentric aspiring actor, where character flaws are the source of conflict, not immutable characteristics or systemic oppression. The movie features crude and often offensive humor, a heavy reliance on profanity, drug use, and explicit sexual jokes that demonstrate a general moral vacuum and a preference for shock value over objective truth. However, these elements serve the film’s comedic tone, not a political or social lecture. The limited presence of non-white characters is purely for side plot and comedic relief without any commentary on race or privilege. The final destination is a celebration of family, making its core themes anti-ideological, though its methods are morally base and nihilistic.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The narrative centers on two white male leads, an uptight architect and an oblivious actor, whose conflicts are entirely personality-based, not ideological. Character merit or personal growth drives the conclusion. There is no vilification of whiteness or forced lecture on privilege, and secondary characters of color function only for short-lived comedic plot points, not to advance intersectional hierarchy.

Oikophobia2/10

The film’s central conflict is a desperate journey to return home and be present for the birth of a child, validating the institution of the family. The American road trip setting is depicted as chaotic, crude, and frustrating, offering satire of American life and institutions (like airport security and police), but it does not frame Western civilization as fundamentally corrupt or racist, nor does it demonize ancestors.

Feminism1/10

The core motivation of the plot is explicitly pro-natalist, as the protagonist's sole, overriding goal is to reach his wife for the birth of their child. The wife, Sarah, serves as the final, important anchor. The male characters are depicted as bumbling and deeply flawed, but this is a function of the comedy genre, not an ideological attempt to emasculate masculinity or promote the 'Girl Boss' trope; the end goal is the man fulfilling his role as a father.

LGBTQ+4/10

The core of the plot is centered on a traditional male-female pairing and a nuclear family goal. The score is raised due to the comedic inclusion of explicit non-normative sexual acts, such as one main character implying semi-public masturbation as a coping mechanism, which is played for crude shock value. This content is a sexual ideology violation but is presented as a gross-out character quirk, not as a political lecture or a centering of queer theory.

Anti-Theism3/10

The movie operates within a spiritual vacuum, utilizing profanity, drug use (smoking pot is shown multiple times), and amoral, nihilistic situations for comedy. Traditional religion or faith is entirely absent from the plot, which reflects a pervasive moral relativism. No specific hostility toward Christianity or traditional religion is shown; rather, the morality is simply subjective and base.