Monday, June 22, 2015

Movie review - "We're the Millers" (2014) ***1/2

A surprise - I didn't know what to expect from this bawdy comedy; it had been a success at the box office but that doesn't mean it was any good. However the result is a genuinely entertaining film. There is a solid central idea (pot dealer persuades misfits to masquerade as his family to enable him to smuggle drugs), a well constructed screenplay with good reversals (they take the wrong van, they're being set up, the dags they meet on the road are drug officers), well-etched characters (pot seller, stripper, street kid, geek) and many laughs (especially the "family making out' scene).

Jason Sudekis is always likeable, as is Jennifer Aniston; Emma Roberts is a bit pretty-and-bland, as always, but Will Poulter is the ace in the hole - instead of casting some bland pretty boy they went with someone really talented and odd looking. Kathryn Hahn and Nick Offerman offer strong support. Oh and it's got a heart too - I liked it a lot.

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