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Film Review: 'We're The Millers'

Elisabeth Roberts |
August 13, 2013 | 5:33 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Jennifer Aniston in "We're The Millers" (Warner Bros).
Jennifer Aniston in "We're The Millers" (Warner Bros).
"We're the Millers" definitely puts a twist on the 'family-on-a-roundtrip' film.

A pot dealer (Jason Sudeikis), desperate to get out of trouble with his boss (Ed Helms) after being robbed, must figure out a way to smuggle marijuana from Mexico back into the U.S. without getting arrested. To pull off the mission, he enlists other random screw-ups and desperate individuals to pretend to be his family in order to avoid suspicion when crossing the border. His wife Rose (Jennifer Aniston) is really a stripper, his daughter Casey (Emma Roberts) is a runaway punk, and his son Kenny (Will Poulter) is actually his nerdy and lonely neighbor.

Just by the film's characters, the journey starts out with the most unconventional group you’ve ever heard of attempting to pass for a traditional American family from the suburbs. The film is surprisingly funny and provides some quality laugh-out-loud moments.

The casting of the film was well done with the exception of Ed Helms, who plays the outrageous frat-boy-turned-drug-lord. The idea of Helms pulling off such a role seems a little odd and his performance was a tad non-sensical.

For the most part, the actors delivered their performances to the best of their abilities in a film that keeps all of its characters one-dimensional. The film tends to lack a deeper emotional level past the average uncommon comedy. However, Will Poulter does an especially hysterical job at playing virgin Kenny in his breakout role — extra props to him for being the movie’s punch line most of the time. 

Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn are delightful and supply a bundle of laughs as the Fitzgeralds, an oddball couple who continue to show up throughout the film.

Jennifer Aniston should win some kind of award for her incredible strip tease. That’s right, even at 44 she has an incredible body for someone at any age. She and Jason Sudeikis don’t play the most convincing couple, but despite the lack of chemistry they do play off each other’s humor in an entertaining way.

"We’re the Millers" will most likely not be winning any major awards this year, but that’s to be expected. However, the film is surprisingly entertaining even during its crudest moments and is definitely a good way to escape and relax for a couple hours if you have the time.

One of the best parts of the film comes at the very end, during the blooper reel. Stick around until the credits!

Watch the trailer below.

Reach Staff Reporter Elisabeth Roberts here; Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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