We're the Millers

I saw the trailer for We're the Millers a few months ago and the only thing that stood out to me was Jennifer Aniston’s striptease. Everything else seemed pretty generic at the time. So when more and more trailers were released showing the full cast, which featured Nick Offerman and Ed Helms as supporting characters, I was pretty much sold on seeing this. This has been a year of mediocre comedies and this is the first one that showed any real promise in the trailers.

In this movie we follow a small time drug dealer, David (Jason Sudeikis), who needs to smuggle a huge amount of weed back into the United States to pay off a debt to his boss (Ed Helms). David knowing that going over the border by himself and then trying to come back over would look suspicious, he enlists a rag-tag team to pose as his family for the trip. He brings in Kenny (Will Poulter), a dork that lives in his building, Rose (Jennifer Aniston), his stripper neighbor, and Casey (Emma Roberts), a runaway teenager, to pose as his wife and kids. Everything goes off without a hitch until they realize that they are bringing over a lot more “product” than they originally thought.

The cast in this one is actually really funny and exceeded my expectations in every way. Sudeikis and Aniston have great chemistry and share some of the funniest moments in the movie. Newcomer Will Poulter, stole pretty much every scene that he was featured in with his goofy naivety in almost every situation he was placed in. All I can say about this kid is, Spider + Balls = Hilarity. I am a sucker for “stupid” humor and this movie featured a ton of it, so the comedy worked for me on every level.

Nick Offerman shows up and steals every scene that he is in, which continues the trend that started in Parks & Recreation. Offerman is hilarious in everything that I have ever seen him in and his straight-laced character in the movie is a great counter to Sudeikis' portrayal of David. A minor appearance by Ken Marino as a greasy strip club owner was one of the funniest moments in the movie. He is one of those underappreciated comedic actors who do not get a ton of screen time in movies but certainly deserve it.  The Aniston striptease was the main reason that I wanted to see the movie in the first place, and I am happy to see that t did not disappoint. It definitely made getting through some of the weaker points of the story worth it and showcased why she is still one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood.

This movie is incredibly formulaic and you get a real sense of how everything in the movie is going to play out about 15-20 minutes in. I am not saying that the story took anything away from the movie but it certainly didn't make it better. I am certainly not expecting high concept storytelling in comedy but a few curveballs could have been thrown in to mix up the plot a bit. The over the top performance by Ed Helms as David’s boss was a bit wonky, and he played it way over the top. His character stuck out like a sore thumb at points for me and he just fell flat in every scene that he was in. Also for a comedy that is about smuggling drugs there was a surprising lack of drug use in the film. It didn't take anything away from the movie for me, but it was kind of weird that the weed they are transporting was only used for some physical humor. Come to think of it, maybe that was one of the curveballs that I thought was missing from the movie.

We're the Millers is a solid comedy that gives audiences plenty to laugh at. This is one hilarious movie but if you don't like to laugh at least you'll get to see an awesome striptease by Jennifer Aniston.



Drinking Game

Take a Shot- Every time you hear "boner garage".

Take a Drink- Every time David or Rose says "We're the Millers".

Chug a Beer- When Jennifer Aniston does her striptease.