Road Cinema, or road movie, is one of Hollywood’s favorite subgenres of playwrights: playwrights, directors, and producers. In films of this genre theme, both beginners and sought-after actors like to act. “Back to back” is precisely why it was considered a deliberately successful project, in addition, the film has all the signs of a good comedy.
Plot
The plot of the comedy “Back to End”, the actors and the roles of which are matched almost perfectly, introduces the viewer to the main character Peter Hyman (Downey Jr.), who is returning from a business trip to Los Angeles, where his first-born should be born in a week . At the airport, fate brings him to the imagined actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis), who intended to conquer Hollywood with the support of his snow-white bulldog Sunny. Due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, both men are disembarked from the airliner, blacklisted, as a result of which they will no longer be able to use the services of the airlines for a certain time. Peter, finding himself without money or any documents proving his identity, decides to catch his wife’s birth at all costs and recklessly agrees to drive a car with the unbearable Ethan and his dog across America.
Such a story should have been embodied on the screen by the actors involved in the project. “Back to back” was created by a whole creative group of like-minded people, and Todd Phillips acted not only as a director, but also as a co-producer.
In the center of the story
In the comedy directed by Todd Phillips there is a fundamental feature that makes it a win-win option for fans of the comedy genre - it's humor "on the edge." The creators in a rather hackneyed plot, albeit funny, put in a lot of jokes, which, seemingly, to laugh at are stupid and even indecent, but it’s impossible to resist laughter.
In the center of the storytelling are two main characters, sharply contrasting with each other - Peter and Ethan, whose roles were played by well-known actors. “Back to back” gave the world another brilliant pair of comedians - Zach Halifianakis and Robert Downey Jr.
Between their heroes, according to the director, a certain “anti-chemistry” arises that impedes their communication. Peter is an eternally busy, cynical businessman, neatly folding his things and not parting with hands-free. Ethan is a too sentimental, friendly loser, imagining himself an actor and sincerely believing in Shakespeare's common saying about "life-theater" and "people-actors". In addition, involuntary fellow travelers have an additional annoying factor that will certainly infuriate Peter - this is the Sunny Bulldog, who is similar in character and habits to his master.
The hero of Jamie Foxx fits perfectly into the story , unfortunately, he had very little screen time. The second-rate actors also performed well. "Back to back" would not have been such a spectacular sight without the participation of Michelle Monaghan, Juliette Lewis, Danny McBride and others.
Director's Choice
Director Todd Phillips, who began his career with "Road Adventure", specializes in funny "road" comedies, the film "Hangover", in the domestic version of "Hangover", is considered to be his best work. In this awesome comedy there were a lot of gags and colorful characters, among which the freaky Alan, the brother-in-law of the protagonist, most attracting the attention of the viewer stood out. In the new masterpiece, the director made the actor Zach Halifianakis the lead actor, which is the “cement” of the entire plot narrative.
Zach Halifianakis
His hero Ethan is a real “highlight” of the picture, his atypical gestures, unique facial expressions are interesting discoveries of the actor, confirming his unique ability to transform. Zak began his creative career with separate humorous numbers, which he showed to everyone who wanted New Yorkers just on the street, near the vans selling hamburgers. After unexpectedly surging popularity, the actor led a talk show on television, introducing the attention of a wide audience of newly-minted underground stars. Halifianakis was renowned worldwide for his paintings The Bachelor Party in Vegas, The Bachelor Party 2, The Bachelor Party 3, and, of course, End-to-End. Actors working with Zach predict a brilliant career in the film industry, however, now his filmography has exceeded the mark of 30 films.
Robert John Downey Jr.
The actors of the “End-to-End” film did not expect to see next to themselves on the set one of the highest paid actors of the Dream Factory according to Forbes. The creative path of Robert John Downey Jr. is full of ups and downs. He began his acting career in early childhood, by the beginning of the 90s he was already known as the most sought after artist, thanks to his participation in such films as Air America, Born Killers, Charlie Chaplin. But after a series of scandals over drug addiction that erupted in the late 1990s, and Downey Jr.’s prison term. returned to the big screen only in 2001. The return was truly triumphant, all the paintings with his participation became successful, among them: “Gothic”, “Zodiac”, “Soldiers of Failure” and media franchise “Iron Man”. Thanks to his participation in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes projects, the actor was awarded the Golden Globe.
His hero in the comedy “Back-to-Back” Peter is a thoughtful and clear-cut image, mostly devoid of comedic cliches in his behavior. The presence of such a master of the stage did not allow the movie “Back to Back” to slide to an unworthy shed. Actors partners in the shop Downey Jr. they did not cease to be surprised at the skill of the actor, his great dramatic talent.