Wir sind die Millers

We're the Millers (2013)

Okay, this seems like just another goofy comedy, but it's pretty great. It's funny, has lots of fun twists, and some good comic lines. But more than that, it creates a kind of intimacy and sense of real family (a sense of it) that makes you realize what family is all about. Yeah, unlikely, I know, but it works. When the two "fake" parents start to act like real ones, it's funny but also moving.

Who woulda thought?

It's hard to say who pulls this off—clearly the "parents" are terrific, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis. And the two kids are pretty good too, if clichéd. But what makes it all happen is the breezy comic writing. The basic set up is filled with clichés, and you have to like corny humor to really enjoy the play on these. So there are drug lords and immigrations officials. There are dorky RV tourists and clueless bystanders everywhere. But kick back and don't' expect too much and be surprised.

And don't miss the bloopers in the final credits. Among them is a great moment where they play the theme to "Friends" on the RV radio, and it seems to catch Aniston by surprise. Group admiration.

Jennifer Aniston plays a stripper in this movie. I think that's all that needs to be said here.

We're The Millers follows local pot dealer David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) after unfortunate circumstances lead his boss, Brad Gurdlinger (Ed Helms), to have him transport a giant shipment of weed from Mexico into the U.S. To do this, David assembles a fake family bearing the last name Miller to cross the border without suspicion. This family consists of Rose O'Reilly (Jennifer Aniston), a stripper who lives in David's apartment block, Kenny Rossmore (Will Poulter), David's dorky neighbor, and Casey Mathis (Emma Roberts), the local "gutter punk".

While this particular story may be original, the way the movie plays out is completely cliché. When watching the movie you're going to be able to tell what's gonna happen next as far as the progression of emotion between the characters. The classic at first they don't get along, then they start to have fun, then they find out something about one of the characters that upsets them, yada yada yada. You know the drill. But I'm very lenient with comedies because they have one job: to make me laugh and We're The Millers, for the most part, does its job successfully.

This is a very dumb comedy. There is no joke that takes any thought to figure out, but the movie never seems full of itself. It's very self aware and doesn't try to be something it's not. That being said, I don't know if I would have liked the movie as much if it wasn't for the cast, particularly Sudeikis and Poulter. Sudeikis just has a natural charm to him and he delivers lines that aren't actually that great in ways that make them funny (Also he's engaged to Olivia Wilde, so good on him). Poulter has the perfect face for this role. I almost feel bad for saying it but his character was hilarious just because he's such a dorky looking guy. Aniston and Roberts do what they can with what they're given in the script but neither of them really did anything that stood out to me (Except for a scene that was actually rather uncomfortable after Kenny attempts to flirt with a girl). Also, Nick Offerman is in the movie for a little bit and has a really awesome scene involving a mug. None of the other actors really do anything worth mentioning, which sucks because Ed Helms is in this movie and nothing with him made me laugh due to the unfortunately weak script. Really it's the actors that made this movie likable, and the fact that the b-reel during the credits of the movie is funnier than most of the actual movie backs that up.

What you see in the trailer for the movie is basically exactly what you get: A pretty enjoyable comedy, although nothing remarkable. Speaking of the trailer, it actually gives a lot of the best laughs away (as most trailers do) so if you haven't seen it or you don't really remember it, don't watch it! This Is The End still reigns champion as this year's best comedy, but I'd say We're The Millers is good in its own right.

If you've seen enough movies you know exactly how this is going to end a few minutes in, so the fun is watching how they work the plot towards that conclusion.

It's an enjoyable movie with humor that sometimes made me cringe and other times laugh out loud. Jason S. is typecast in this role, but he has good screen chemistry with Jennifer A. The two kids play their roles well, the boy maybe too well.

If you like sexually charged humor, or want something to tune out with, I can recommend it. The biggest compliment I can give it is saying I hope they make a sequel.

There's nothing to it, if all you're looking for witty/clever/subtle/deep humor, and you hate sexual/stupid/slapsticky type humor...you will probably still like We're The Millers.

It's not a gold mine of comedy by any means, but it did the job it told us it would do: Make us laugh and give us a fun ride. They really brought together a dysfunctional family and did it in a way that allowed for some suspension of disbelief. A lot of comedies nowadays have those hit or miss scenes where you either laugh, or you just can't suspend your disbelief and you're sitting there like "Really? Really? She's gonna poop in the sink?" (guess the reference). We're The Millers is pretty much a compilation of those kinds of scenes that hit just the right tone to pull it off as funny, clever and it just kinda grows on you.

The "family" we see on screen for most of the surprisingly high 109 minute runtime is in a lot of ways funny, in some ways disgusting, and in a few ways charming. The film just works with the pairing of Sudeikis and Aniston, as we saw for a tiny bit in Horrible Bosses, which to me is one of the funniest movies in a long while. If you liked Wedding Crashers, or Hot Tub Time Machine, chances are you'll like this one, which was written by the 4 screenwriters who worked on those films. The 2 pairs of writers who have a history with comedy throw some subtle humor in the dialog which you probably won't get if you're not paying enough attention, which allows for every comedy lovers dream: To be laughing out loud, then hearing an ever so subtle joke causing you to laugh harder, then hearing another one and another and another. The film was consistently funny in a sense that when it got me, it REEALLLY got me.

Overall, the film is just a slight bit lovable, with characters you actually kinda like...not too common for a modern comedy. More so than the story, the laughs came interspersed well enough to where I can't complain because I did way more laughing than I expected. It wasn't "rolling on the floor" funny, but I did have some hearty laughs out loud.

Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the previous works by the screenwriters.

7/10

EDIT: I ended up seeing it a second time and tried to pay attention to all of the funny subtlety of one-liners and witty remarks by characters throughout, and I laughed very hard at quite a few things I didn't catch the first time. I liked it more the second time and raise my rating to an 8/10. Is truly a very funny film.

8/10

I was skeptical because I don't much care for Jennifer Aniston but I love Jason Sudeikis so figured I would give it a shot and was not disappointed. Aniston plays the vulgar downtrodden stripper so well and don't get me started on the genius that is Will Poulter. Slow build up to about 30 minutes in and then I just couldn't get enough! Its not a unique premise, however it does give the viewer a sense of what a real family is: whatever you make it. I will personally be adding this one to my rotation.

And to the people giving 1 star reviews because they felt misled and brought their kids to the theater (and also to the ones ranting about morality: Its rated R for a reason, what did you expect?