‘We’re the Millers’ is about a low level, lifelong pot dealer, David (Sudeikis), who, after being robbed, becomes indebted to his dealer, Brad (Helms). To get out of debt, he has to smuggle what he is told is a “smidge†of marijuana from Mexico to the U.S. Under the cloud of committing a federal crime, David devises the plan to make a fake family, the "Millers", to hopefully draw less attention to himself while he crosses the heavily guarded boarder.
After bringing together his stripper neighbor, Rose (Aniston), as his wife, a lonely, naive kid, Kenny (Poulter), as his son, and Casey (Roberts), a runaway, as his daughter, the Millers begin their family road trip to Mexico. From here, the story becomes highly predictable as it hits all the familiar notes of R-rated comedies from the last few years. Luckily, for the Millers, the chemistry among the core cast is strong enough that most will find all the familiar speed bumps on their family trip funny enough that you don’t really care if you know where the film is going to end.
What may surprise some is Sudeikis’s ability to be the leading man of a film, as his charisma is contagious and elevates every character he interacts with, especially when he is allowed to do his own thing. Aniston finds a great median between her romantic comedy roots and her highly-sexualized role from 'Horrible Bosses'. She is able to be genuinely funny, endearing, raunchy and sexy, seemingly at the flip of a switch, and it is her chemistry with Sudeikis that really drives the film from gag to gag. Roberts, on the other hand, fits her role fine but, because her character is the most underwritten, she sometimes gets lost in the background. Poulter, the least known of maybe the entire film, draws some pretty big laughs and does a good job in his role as the timid kid who wishes he was more “manlier†than he really is.
The only lacking aspect of the film is its unoriginal story. Right from the beginning, (heck, even from seeing the trailers), you know how the film is going to end; the only thing you don’t know is all the little laughs along the way. This is where the film gets the audience to love it, because the usual laughs are bigger and better than the average comedy from the past few years. But, this is also my problem with most comedies of the last few years; they make you laugh and for the common viewer, that’s all they want, which is fine and dandy, but I like comedies that have great stories too. The script here doesn’t have a very good story, but the cast mashes their talents in such a way that you know they had fun making the film, and when that translates to the screen, it makes the film more entertaining. Sadly, this trend of only looking to entertain with cheap laughs rather than story and character seems to be picking up steam, and while this may be an enjoyable and entertaining example of this, it is an example none the less.
We’re the Millers is in amiable, light-hearted road movie in the wake of other comedies this year that have felt the need to capitalize off of their star-power or their mean-spiritedness. It’s a comedy that doesn’t feel the need to exist in the “raunch with heart†sector of comedies, not trying to channel comedy director Judd Apatow in any way. While it has heart, it doesn’t become too sentimental about its characters and, ultimately, winds up being a pretty “clean†R-rated comedy. There’s very little nudity, some four-letter words, and clear drug references based on the plot, but otherwise, this is surprisingly tame considering the fact that films like The Hangover: Part II stunningly squeak by with an R-rating.
Download We're the Millers
The film stars probably the most fitting cast for a film about the creation of a fake family. Jason Sudeikis plays David, a small-time drug dealer looking to make a quick buck selling dime-bags out of his backpack for Brad (Ed Helms), his supplier. After being robbed, Brad sends him on a mission to pick up a “smidge and a half†of marijuana in Mexico. Because David already inherently looks pretty suspicious and sleazy, he gets the idea to rent an RV and create a fake family to throw off the border patrol guards as just another family on vacation. He throws together Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a stripper - who remains at least somewhat clothed during the entire movie - who lives in his apartment complex, Kenny (Will Poulter), an eighteen-year-old virgin who also lives in his complex, and Casey (Emma Roberts), a runaway who loves rolling her eyes, and they hit the road to pick up the marijuana, which turns out to be two metric tons rather than the predicted “smidge and a half.â€
It’s no doubt that with a different writer and a maybe a different director that We’re the Millers could’ve been a filthier movie. The fact that strippers are scene with bras and underwear on should be the indication that the film doesn’t fully exercise the rights given by its R-rating. But there doesn’t need to be a whole lot of nudity or swearing for a comedy to function, although, on occasion it does help. The film works largely in part due to the sophistication of its cast, who seem to take pride in their characters and their respective attitudes.
Download We're the Millers
The only thing that may come to your realization at the end is that some of their personality traits and depth, particularly Emma Roberts’ thuggish Casey, are somewhat underexploited. A character like her’s could’ve brought true laughs and true sadness and emotional depth to an otherwise fairly light-hearted story. The fact that she is given little to do - considering how she can be a very convincing screen presence - is pretty disappointing.
Nonetheless, the remainder of the cast clicks on-sight. Sudeikis goes for a cleaned-up white guy in a rather hilarious way, Aniston proves that she can still be sexy in a couple dance sequences but, most importantly, totally owns the role of a fake-mother during the necessary moments, and Poulter brings likable, innocent chemistry to the screen. I think the performance that will go collectively unnoticed is the wild one given by Ed Helms, whose overacting and craziness is kind of underused here.
Watch We're the Millers Movie
There is fun to be had with We’re the Millers, and it’s pleasant to see a comedy not completely go overboard with sex-related dialog and needless cursing (although there are quite the incest jokes, especially during a hilarious kissing scene). As formulaic and has completely incredulous as it is, it’s smart enough t
After bringing together his stripper neighbor, Rose (Aniston), as his wife, a lonely, naive kid, Kenny (Poulter), as his son, and Casey (Roberts), a runaway, as his daughter, the Millers begin their family road trip to Mexico. From here, the story becomes highly predictable as it hits all the familiar notes of R-rated comedies from the last few years. Luckily, for the Millers, the chemistry among the core cast is strong enough that most will find all the familiar speed bumps on their family trip funny enough that you don’t really care if you know where the film is going to end.
What may surprise some is Sudeikis’s ability to be the leading man of a film, as his charisma is contagious and elevates every character he interacts with, especially when he is allowed to do his own thing. Aniston finds a great median between her romantic comedy roots and her highly-sexualized role from 'Horrible Bosses'. She is able to be genuinely funny, endearing, raunchy and sexy, seemingly at the flip of a switch, and it is her chemistry with Sudeikis that really drives the film from gag to gag. Roberts, on the other hand, fits her role fine but, because her character is the most underwritten, she sometimes gets lost in the background. Poulter, the least known of maybe the entire film, draws some pretty big laughs and does a good job in his role as the timid kid who wishes he was more “manlier†than he really is.
The only lacking aspect of the film is its unoriginal story. Right from the beginning, (heck, even from seeing the trailers), you know how the film is going to end; the only thing you don’t know is all the little laughs along the way. This is where the film gets the audience to love it, because the usual laughs are bigger and better than the average comedy from the past few years. But, this is also my problem with most comedies of the last few years; they make you laugh and for the common viewer, that’s all they want, which is fine and dandy, but I like comedies that have great stories too. The script here doesn’t have a very good story, but the cast mashes their talents in such a way that you know they had fun making the film, and when that translates to the screen, it makes the film more entertaining. Sadly, this trend of only looking to entertain with cheap laughs rather than story and character seems to be picking up steam, and while this may be an enjoyable and entertaining example of this, it is an example none the less.
We’re the Millers is in amiable, light-hearted road movie in the wake of other comedies this year that have felt the need to capitalize off of their star-power or their mean-spiritedness. It’s a comedy that doesn’t feel the need to exist in the “raunch with heart†sector of comedies, not trying to channel comedy director Judd Apatow in any way. While it has heart, it doesn’t become too sentimental about its characters and, ultimately, winds up being a pretty “clean†R-rated comedy. There’s very little nudity, some four-letter words, and clear drug references based on the plot, but otherwise, this is surprisingly tame considering the fact that films like The Hangover: Part II stunningly squeak by with an R-rating.
Download We're the Millers
The film stars probably the most fitting cast for a film about the creation of a fake family. Jason Sudeikis plays David, a small-time drug dealer looking to make a quick buck selling dime-bags out of his backpack for Brad (Ed Helms), his supplier. After being robbed, Brad sends him on a mission to pick up a “smidge and a half†of marijuana in Mexico. Because David already inherently looks pretty suspicious and sleazy, he gets the idea to rent an RV and create a fake family to throw off the border patrol guards as just another family on vacation. He throws together Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a stripper - who remains at least somewhat clothed during the entire movie - who lives in his apartment complex, Kenny (Will Poulter), an eighteen-year-old virgin who also lives in his complex, and Casey (Emma Roberts), a runaway who loves rolling her eyes, and they hit the road to pick up the marijuana, which turns out to be two metric tons rather than the predicted “smidge and a half.â€
It’s no doubt that with a different writer and a maybe a different director that We’re the Millers could’ve been a filthier movie. The fact that strippers are scene with bras and underwear on should be the indication that the film doesn’t fully exercise the rights given by its R-rating. But there doesn’t need to be a whole lot of nudity or swearing for a comedy to function, although, on occasion it does help. The film works largely in part due to the sophistication of its cast, who seem to take pride in their characters and their respective attitudes.
Download We're the Millers
The only thing that may come to your realization at the end is that some of their personality traits and depth, particularly Emma Roberts’ thuggish Casey, are somewhat underexploited. A character like her’s could’ve brought true laughs and true sadness and emotional depth to an otherwise fairly light-hearted story. The fact that she is given little to do - considering how she can be a very convincing screen presence - is pretty disappointing.
Nonetheless, the remainder of the cast clicks on-sight. Sudeikis goes for a cleaned-up white guy in a rather hilarious way, Aniston proves that she can still be sexy in a couple dance sequences but, most importantly, totally owns the role of a fake-mother during the necessary moments, and Poulter brings likable, innocent chemistry to the screen. I think the performance that will go collectively unnoticed is the wild one given by Ed Helms, whose overacting and craziness is kind of underused here.
Watch We're the Millers Movie
There is fun to be had with We’re the Millers, and it’s pleasant to see a comedy not completely go overboard with sex-related dialog and needless cursing (although there are quite the incest jokes, especially during a hilarious kissing scene). As formulaic and has completely incredulous as it is, it’s smart enough t
