WE'RE THE MILLERS (2013 - COMEDY) **** out of *****
(Now, that's one fucked-up family - sign me up!)
CAST: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Quinn, Matthew Willig, Luis Guzman.
DIRECTOR: Rawson Marshall Thurber
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some compelling reasons to go on a Mexican road trip with a pre-fab family - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: When "aren't-you-a-little-too-old-to-still-be-doing-this-shit?" pot dealer David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) is jumped by a bunch of muggers half his age while he's trying to help runaway skank Casey Mathis (Emma Roberts) and next-door-neighbor doofus/dork Kenny Rossmore (Will Poulter) get out of a scrape, he loses the $45,000 in revenue he owes his drug boss. What the fuck was this dumbass thinking anyway? I mean, who goes running around with $45,000 in his back pack anyway? Hell, only a drug dealer would do that. And it's not like David is a... hmmmmmm.... wait a sec. My bad.
Anyhow, David's boss is the loony Brad Gurdlinger (Ed Helms), who is probably the least likely drug kingpin you are, um, likely to find. For starters, he looks like my dentist. Nevertheless, despite his milquetoast looks, Brad G. goes through the fucking roof when he finds out his employee let $45,000 slip through his fingers. When he finally settles back down to Planet Earth, Brad offers David a chance to make it all good - and maybe even make a few bucks in the process. Brad wants David to travel down to rural Mexico, pick up a shitload of, ahem, mary-joo-wannah - and sneak back across the border with David's camper filled to the brim with the green, smelly stuff. And, no, I'm not talking about toe jam.
The million dollar question: how in the holy hell is our hero supposed to pull this off? I mean, a single guy driving a camper by himself through Mexico, trying to cross back into the United States, is probably the biggest Border Patrol Red Flag of all. Fortunately, all those years of pot-smoking have not killed all of David's brain cells as one would expect - and he hits on a brilliant plan. Well, brilliant-ish, anyway...
And what is the plan, you ask? Wait for it: David recruits stripper neighbor Rose O'Reilly (Jennifer Aniston), that skank Casey, and that doofus/dork Kenny to join him on the trip - and pose as The Squarest White Bread Family This Side Of A Brady Bunch Marathon. He figures they have a much greater chance to cross the border without incident if they resemble your typical happy family. As if happy families these days are mutually exclusive from happy families who are high off their gourds. Whatever. And just like that, "the Millers" are born.
And off to Mexico our "faux family" goes. But is David's plan as fool-proof as he initially thought? What happens when they run into another American family on vacation, the Fitzgeralds (Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Quinn), who truly are The Squarest White Bread Family This Side Of A Brady Bunch Marathon? Will "the Millers" be able to hide their true identities and, more importantly, the shitload of mary-jane packed in every corner and crevice of the camper? And what happens when Daddy Fitzgerald (Offerman) turns out to be - omigod, the irony - a DEA agent? And then, just because things aren't challenging enough as it is, two Mexican druglords (Tomer Sisley and Matthew Willig), who are Brad G.'s rivals, give chase to both the Millers and the Fitzgeralds to get all that doobage back. How will David, Rose, Kennny, and Casey (and the Fitzgeralds) survive this road trip?
Well, if they want to stay motivated to stay alive, they better not smoke all that shit they have. Just saying...
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Every summer, there are one or two films that analysts and pundits don't give much credit to - but then get turned into surprise breakout hits by audiences. For the Summer 2013 Movie Season, one of those films is WE'RE THE MILLERS. Irreverent, smart, confident, and constantly inventive, this movie has the loony, delightful, "what-will-they-do-next?" unpredictability of past summer comedy hits like THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, WEDDING CRASHERS, & TED just to name a few.
It helps considerably that, just like those movies, this movie has a fairly original concept: four misfits pose as a family to successfully complete a Mexico-US drug run. The result is a fresh feel that enhances the effectiveness of the gags and comedic setpieces. Using a new concept also allows director Rawsan Marshall Thurber and his writers to go down some truly unexpected paths. Just when you think you have a bead on where they are heading, they surprise you - and for a movie, regardless of genre, that is a good thing.
Credit for WE'RE THE MILLERS' success comes from the ideally-cast roles. Jason Sudeikis is rapidly shaping up be one of our funniest comedians of recent years, and while he is essentially playing himself through David Clark, he brings his usual irresistible combo of droll, raunchy humor and sexy confidence. Love him. Also awesome is Jennifer Aniston, who can do no wrong in my book. She's great as Rose, the stripper who is much smarter and pulled together than she lets on. Aniston is that rare comedienne who can successfully play against her looks and be "one of the guys" while still keeping her femininity - which is what we believe to be her winning combo.
As for the "baby Millers," Emma Roberts and Will Poulter are pitch-perfect. Roberts, who is Julia Roberts' niece, has her famous (and talented) aunt's screen presence - but even more of an edge to her. This comes in handy for the role of the brash-but-vulnerable Casey. It will be interesting to see what kinds of roles Roberts will choose in the future, and whether or not she will follow in Julia's steps towards big-budget summer thrillers and romantic comedies - or go in a completely different direction like gritty dramas and independent films.
As for Poulter, he is the true standout of the cast, turning the goofy Kenny into a true comedic charmer. It would be great for him to manage the tricky task of doing more comedies without being typecast as "The Lovable Dork." The funniest setpieces in the films (involving a horny Mexican cop and a tarantula) have Kenny as their centerpiece - and they are thigh-slappers. Poulter is going places.
Tomer Sisley, Matthew Willig, and Ed Helms are solid (and funny) as the baddies. Helms, in particular, makes for an unexpected drug lord. Picture his sexy nerd Stu from THE HANGOVER choosing the wrong path in life, and you will have an idea of the kind of villain Brad Gurdlinger is. Helms doesn't have as much screentime as Sudeikis, Aniston, Roberts, and Poulter, but he makes the most of his limited spotlight.
In the end, WE'RE THE MILLERS (along with THIS IS THE END) is one of the Breakout Hits of Summer 2013 - and is one to get on DVD when it comes out. Go, Millers!
