Wondering who worked behind the scenes on We’re The Millers, I wasn’t expecting to see the big cheese behind the Harry Potter series, David Heyman listed as an executive producer. But maybe that’s why the movie is just so magical. Okay, magical definitely isn’t the most appropriate word, but it is funny. The film follows Jason Sudekis, a pot dealer, who must smuggle marijuana from Mexico to the US in order to square a debt with his distributor (Ed Helms). He enlists his neighbors to play his fake family so that he doesn’t look suspicious crossing the border. Jennifer Aniston plays the fake wife, a stripper. Emma Roberts, the fake daughter, a homeless teenager. Then Will Poulter plays the fake son, a “loser.”
The whole plot of the movie comes together rather quickly. It’s not entirely believable that the neighbors would jump into an RV with Sudekis’ shady character. It’s basically just one step above him luring them in with candy, but it’s a comedy so we’ll buy it. The cast works very well together. There are no weak links among the group. But we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the hilarious moments provided by the most unknown member of the cast, Poulter. This is a very different performance than the one we saw from him in the third Narnia film. There weren’t any spider bitten genitals in that. Unfortunately not as strong is the completely uninteresting Ed Helms. The fellow supporting players Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn are funny, but there is a sense that Helms is out of his comedic depth.
We’re The Millers has everything necessary to make it an often quoted fan favorite. The memorable scenes keep coming with a plot that advances on its simple premise. Having just left Saturday Night Live after a long stint, it’s clear that Sudekis is ready to take on lead roles on the regular. In this instance, he carries the movie even though the veteran Aniston is also featured. With that being said, all of the leads give noteworthy performances that belong at, or near the top, of their filmographies.
Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.
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