Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston and Emma Roberts
Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hr 50 mins
Warner Brothers
Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars
There’s something about an old fashioned family. Mom, Pop and the kids. Does a heart good to see that. And that’s exactly what Dave Clark (Sudeikis) thinks when he’s recruited by his weed supplier (Ed Helms) to travel to Mexico to pick up a smidge (“ok, a smidge and a half”) of marijuana to pay off a debt. Dave recruits a motley crew of “family” members: Rose (Aniston), a neighbor currently paying her rent (or not paying it) with money earned as a stripper; Kenny (Will Poulter) a quiet neighborhood kid; and Casey (Roberts) the local “homeless” girl. Together they dress the part, introduce themselves as “the Millers” and head across the border in a custom Winebago. Getting into Mexico is easier. Getting out…not as easy.
Often hilariously funny, “We’re the Millers” earns its laughs by lampooning the wholesome family image everyone remembers from such shows as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best.” Many of the jokes can’t be repeated here (like the “A” word best used to prevent pregnancy) but the characters are dead on in their attempts to portray the kind of people you’d find in a Norman Rockwell painting.
The cast delivers on all cylinders here. Sudeikis has developed into an appealing comic actor and does his best work here since “Hall Pass.” I was never a fan of the television show “Friends” and admit I’ve always been critical, though usually tongue in cheek, about the show’s stars appearing on the big screen. But in the past few years Aniston has won me over as a top notch comedienne and she adds another feather to that cap here. As the kids, Poulter steals the scenes he’s in while Roberts also shows some good comic timing. Supporting turns by Helms, Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn keep the laughs coming.
Though the film does get a little sappy towards the end (you have to have a message) the script is consistently outrageous. If you’re heading back to school shortly, let “We’re the Millers” give you one more big summer laugh.
