Synopsis: David Clark (Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele includes chefs and soccer moms, but no kids-after all, he has his scruples. So what could go wrong? Plenty. Preferring to keep a low profile for obvious reasons, he learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished when he tries to help out some local teens and winds up getting jumped by a trio of gutter punks. Stealing his stash and his cash, they leave him in major debt to his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms).
In order to wipe the slate clean-and maintain a clean bill of health-David must now become a big-time drug smuggler by bringing Brad’s latest shipment in from Mexico. Twisting the arms of his neighbors, cynical stripper Rose (Aniston) and wannabe customer Kenny (Will Poulter), and the tatted-and-pierced streetwise teen Casey (Emma Roberts), he devises a foolproof plan. One fake wife, two pretend kids and a huge, shiny RV later, the “Millers” are headed south of the border for a Fourth of July weekend that is sure to end with a bang.
Release Date: August 7, 2013 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Comedy, Action
Film Review
Production
We’re the Millers is the type of comedy that doesn’t get much attention, but will likely satisfy any who give it a chance. It’s a raunchy R-rated comedy with a road trip premise and a surprisingly strong ensemble, and like many comedies these days We’re the Millers struggles to find its footing, at first. However, when the stakes start to escalate for our faux family, things get much more interesting, and genuinely funny.
The film stars Jason Sudeikis (David), Jennifer Aniston (Rose), Emma Roberts (Casey), and Will Poulter (Kenny) as four unique individuals: a drug dealer, stripper, homeless teen, and good-boy-virgin, all brought together begrudgingly by Sudeikis’ David. The group becomes the eponymous Millers, a road-tripping family with a secret agenda: smuggling a large amount of drugs into the U.S. All in all the cast in We’re the Millers is solid, as are the supporting characters, like Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn’s idyllic family with some dark bedroom secrets. Sudeikis makes for a perfect unconventional leading man in drug dealer David and Aniston does well playing against type as Rose the stripper – a role she seems to relish at this point in her career. Roberts’ Casey on the other hand is almost completely wasted in the film, and feels like the least fleshed out of the “Miller” characters. The real standout, though, is Poulter as Kenny Miller, a naive do-gooder who is thrust into a situation that is well beyond anything he has encountered before. His scenes are the funniest in the whole film, and they work so well because of the strength of his performance.
For as much as We’re the Millers seems like a fairly generic R-rated comedy, and in a lot of respects it is, the film still gets one thing right: the laughs. It takes some time to get there, and for the first 20 minutes or so I thought we never would, but when the film hits, it hits hard. Rather than push the envelope in terms of gross-out humor, We’re the Millers plays around with the conventions of a traditional, nuclear family. A lot of the biggest laughs come because, for a second, you forget these individuals aren’t related. You laugh, and occasionally squirm, which is rare for a comedy, and works so well in We’re the Millers case.
Overall, I’d say that We’re the Millers has it’s heart in the right place. It doesn’t overreach in terms of its plot or character development, but it gives the envelope a nice little shove when things get a little stale. There are some points in the film where it drags, or where it just plain lost my interest, but those moments were few and far between. Comedies have taken quite a beating this year, but I think We’re the Millers is the unconventional kick in the pants the genre needed.
Comedy Factor
If a comedy is worth recommending, it’s obviously very funny. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So know this: We’re the Millers is worth seeing because it has some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments. What it might lack on a narrative level, the film certainly makes up for by keeping its audience, at the very least, smiling. Again, this is an R-rated comedy, so be aware that the film doesn’t hold back all that much. Incest, wife-swapping, and soccer moms stripping are not something you see covered in a comedy these days, and I applaud We’re the Millers for choosing to broach these subjects in a way that makes you laugh. Easily offended people might want to avoid We’re the Millers, but the rest should seek it out. And no, the trailers don’t give away all of the best jokes.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Rawson Marshall Thurber
- Producer(s):
- Screenwriter(s): Bob FisherSteve FaberSean Anders
- Story: John Morris
- Cast: Jason Sudeikis (David)Jennifer Aniston (Rose) Will Poulter (Kenny)Emma Roberts (Casey)Ed Helms (Brad)Nick Offerman (Don)Kathryn Hahn (Edie)
- Editor(s):
- Cinematographer: Barry Peterson
- Production Designer(s): Clayton Hartley
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By: Ludwig Goransson
- Country Of Origin: USA