We study large deviations in the Langevin dynamics, with damping of order $\e^{-1}$ and noise of order $1$, as $\e\downarrow 0$. The damping coefficient is assumed to be state dependent. We proceed first with a change of time and then, we use a weak convergence approach to large deviations and their equivalent formulation in terms of the Laplace principle, to determine the good action functional. Some applications of these results to the exit problem from a domain and to the wave front propagation for a suitable class of reaction diffusion equations are considered.