By Caitlin Walsh, News Staff
Despite a plot line that was hard to take seriously, even for a comedy, and previews that didn’t generate quite the hype expected, summer blockbuster “We’re The Millers” has managed to fare well at No. 2 in the box office. With big names like former “Saturday Night Live” star Jason Sudeikis, former “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston and “Valentine’s Day” star Emma Roberts, the movie set the standards high for itself.
Those standards were, thankfully, met.
The premise of the powerhouse comedy of the summer could have easily made or broke the movie: a small time pot dealer, Sudeikis’s David Clark, is roped into a massive trafficking task over the Mexican border by big-time drug lord Brad, played by former “Office” star Ed Helms. David’s master plan to avoid problems at the border is having a seemingly cookie-cutter family, one that he builds with his stripper neighbor Rose, played by Aniston, homeless street punk Casey, played by Roberts and awkward teen neighbor Kenny, played by newcomer Will Poulter.
As Murphy’s law states, everything that could go wrong, did, including (but not limited to) fights with Mexican drug lords and dealers, another RV of a cookie-cutter American family that they could never seem to shake, and a venomous spider bite in the last place any man would want.
The shenanigans that ensued were predictable, yet packed with the needed punch. Lots of sexual jokes, lots of stripper jokes, and even one scene where “Mom” Rose and “sister” Casey teach Kenny how to French kiss while “Dad” David looks on. Action scenes are included as well, and the mix of action and guy humor is uncannily similar to the same formula that made The Hangover series so popular.
Of course, the underlying tones of seriousness were also well executed. David’s inability to ever really grow up was highlighted in the first scene, where he runs into an old college buddy who is now a working father and praises David’s choice to never really move on from college pot dealing. Throughout the movie, however, he forms some semblance of love and protection for his “family” — even if it was all a means to an end.
Rose’s life is one predictable of the stereotypical stripper character — jerk boyfriend who stole her money, evicted from her apartment, a potty mouth trying to pass the day. The sexual tension between her and David was inevitable. Kenny’s lack of any real parent makes his new family somewhat of a dream come true to him, and street rat Casey is just thrilled to be making some money.
In the end, of course, they really come together as one screwed up family.
In light of other huge box office flops and disappointments this summer, including “R.I.P.D” and “The Internship,” “We’re The Millers” really shone through as one of the frontrunners of the summer, up there with animated hits like “Despicable Me 2,” “Monsters University” and, of course, “The Hangover 3.”
All in all, it was a risky move. There was huge potential for a flop, as with any movie, if not perfectly balanced. But “We’re The Millers” hit all the right tones, and will leave every movie goer in stitches, without a doubt.
