We’re the Millers Review

Jennifer Aniston looking happy behind the wheel in We're the Millers

Photo Credit: Warner Brothers Pictures

We’re the Millers

B-

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

Road trip films come in all shapes, sizes and, forms. Usually the formula involves a family attempting to bond by going on a trip together where wacky adventures ensue. We’re the Millers, the latest in the road trip comedy genre tries to put a spin on the genre by making the family a rag tag group of strangers, and their “bonding time” is getting a “smidge” of pot from Mexico. The result is a generic and lowbrow yet pretty funny comedy that manages to be continuously entertaining despite its many flaws.

The plot of We’re the Millers is essentially a road trip movie with a raunchy twist. David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) is a small time drug dealer who sells pot to locals who loses everything he has while trying to protect a runaway Casey (Emma Roberts) from being mugged. Broke and in dept David is forced to go smuggle a “smidge” (which if you can’t tell by now is a lot more than it may sound) of pot from Mexico for his boss Brad (Ed Harris) to repay his debts. David ultimately decides that the best way to get across the border unnoticed is by pretending to have a family, so he enlists a local stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston) to be his wife, a dorky young neighbor Kenny (Will Poulter) to be his son, and the runaway Casey to be his daughter so they can just get in and get out. Safe to say it’s not as easy as anyone wants and crazy adventures ensue.

We’re the Millers isn’t by any measures highbrow comedy but for the most part it manages to be funny. Many of the sequences that work are funny not for their raunchiness though but for their comedic timing. There are several sequences that are laugh out loud funny without being overly gross (despite the general rudeness of the entire film) and the film allows for some good old fashioned jokes to get through here and there. It’s nice in a world full of random raunchy comedies to have one that feels a little more like a comedy and not like a jokeless gross out fest.

The problem with We’re the Millers is that it never goes anywhere particularly interesting, both comedically and plot wise. The film often slips right into all the tropes of the generic road trip film despite its premise being slightly different than other films of the genre. The film, despite being funny, ends up being particularly predictable and at times uninteresting and flat. The film didn’t need to be radically different or strange but maybe a surprise or two would have kept the film more interesting throughout its much too long almost two hour running time.

The other part of the film that is problematic is that some of the characters just don’t work. The biggest example of this is Ed Harris’ stupidly annoying boss character who doesn’t work in any scene he’s in. The character is shrill and unfunny. He’s supposed to be hateable in a funny way but just keeps me wondering why he’s such a prominent part of the film. There are some other characters like him that pop up here and there that feel like failed comic beets that drag the film down and ultimately make it feel much too long.

The performances here are all fine but no one really stands out. Sudeikis proves here that he can in fact being a vital leading man as for the most part he is charming and charismatic in the role. Jennifer Aniston is funny but ultimately, despite the viewer being constantly reminded that yes she is in fact a stripper, feels like many Jennifer Aniston characters of the past. The two younger actors are well cast and provide a lot of foil for some solid comedic moments. Oh and Nick Offerman shows up in the middle of the film as a part of another family on vacation; he is ultimately the one standout performance in the film as the sequences that involve him are quite funny.

Ultimately We’re the Millers is a funny but very flawed summer comedy. The film feels very generic, storytelling wise, but ultimately has many funny moments to keep the audience laughing at a consistent level. We’re the Millers may not be highbrow or interesting but at least it’s funny.