We're the Millers

We're the Millers is a comedy about David, a Denver marijuana dealer (not medicinal), who, after being robbed by hoodlums, must bring a large shipment of weed back from Mexico in order to make things right by his boss.  David figures the only fool-proof way to sneak through customs at the border is to hire a family (because happy families are beyond reproach in the movie's world).  He enlists a stripper, an angry runaway, and a sweet-natured teen whose alcoholic mother is never home as his wife, daughter, and son respectively.  Despite a great deal of animosity, they rent an RV and take a road trip from Mexico back to Denver.  Along the way they encounter a myriad of shenanigans that bring them closer and closer to missing their delivery deadline.

I went into We're the Millers with the lowest of expectations.  So, I was more than a little surprised when I found myself laughing quite a bit and ultimately enjoying it. 

 

It's not a consistent film though.  The first act is really rough and pretty much lived up to my perception of what the whole movie was going to be like.  It's just flat and unfunny and sort of rambles aimlessly.  But once David and his "family" start the drive back to Denver, the movie not just picks up, it feels like it's finally started.  Not every joke works but most of them do.  One thing that helps the comedy is that every one of the "Millers" is a fully fleshed out character.  Sure, they're heavily clichéd, but I'll take that over two dimensional caricatures any day.  As the characters grow and develop, the humor hits home more.  It's as if the script was written from the perspective of the end of the characters' arcs.  Uuntil the Millers start to become like an actual family, the early jokes flounder. 

 

I always find Jason Sudeikis to be a one-note actor.  But in We're the Millers, the material is just right for his delivery.  Jennifer Aniston, however, is quite strong in this movie.  While I don't like many of the movies she's in, I do like her as an actress.  I don't understand what keeps her from starring in better projects.  She can effortlessly balance comedy and drama and her voice and face are incredibly expressive.  She really gives her all for this movie.

 

Despite Sudeikis finally having a script that makes the most of him and Aniston making the most out of the script, the real show stealers are Kathryn Hahn and Nick Offerman.  They play the Fitzgeralds, who are also taking an RV on a family vacation.  They are almost unbearably wholesome, yet timidly reveal their own weird proclivities.  Every second with the Fitzgeralds is super funny.

 

We're the Millers is no comedy classic, but it's a mostly fun two hours.  If you need something to do during the lame first act, you can be baffled by the unrecognizable Denver.  It was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, but they just put Denver or Colorado stickers on some of the shop windows, which is the funniest part about the opening.  Make some omelets and give it a watch.

 

6 out of 10