We're the Millers

I wanted to enjoy We're the Millers a lot more then I actually did. There's great effort put here and you can tell the actors had a blast making it as the four playing the family gave it their A game, but sadly We're the Millers falls short due to inconsistent humor and a choppy tone.

David (Jason Sudeikis) is an amateur drug dealer going nowhere. He soon gets a chance from his boss to make bank. All he has to do is sneak across the country and transport back across a ton of weed. In order to avoid suspicion, he forms a "family" to join him, including the sassy stripper; Rose (Jennifer Aniston), sarcastic and homeless; Casey (Emma Roberts), and the shy virgin; Kenny (Will Poulter).

The four give it a valiant effort, but sadly the material they're given to work with isn't up to game. I found the humor to be quite luke-warm overall. Certain scenes are quite hillarious (the charades scene and weed baby battle) but a lot of others just don't measure up, especially when We're the Millers shoots for the shock/gross value (the wife-swapping & crooked cop scenes). They just don't work and it's a shame considering that We're the Millers can be quite hillarious when the humor hits the right note.

The tone is another big problem with We're the Millers. For about 85% percent of the movie, the characters overall couldn't care less about each other and can't seem to stand each other. But as most comedies with sitcom-ish tones go (seriously, all this one needed was a laugh track), it wraps up everything in a nice little package two seconds later but I never bought it. There wasn't a smooth enough transition or middle period as things start getting a bit warmer in attitude. This is one of the many comedies where the strength lies in the harder edged material.

We're the Millers wasn't a terrible movie. The performances are fun to watch and there are quite a few funny moments but sadly there isn't enough of them as We're the Millers doesn't feel like a feature length movie such as an overextended sitcom that tries to do to much at once. This can be admirable in some cases but in this case, We're the Millers just feels like a bumpy ride.

Grade: 2/4