Who Knew Smuggling Pot Could Be So Much Fun? "We're The Millers"

We're The Millers (2013)
Rated R for Language, language, more language...

Starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Will Poulter, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

The Story:

David (Sudeikis) is a small time pot dealer.  When he gets robbed, he is sent by his supplier (Helms) to Mexico to bring back a smidge, maybe a smidge and a half of weed.  David figures his best cover would be to travel as a family man, so he recruits a stripper (Aniston), a teenage runaway (Roberts), and a nerdy virgin (Poulter) to pretend to be his family and smuggle a little contraband back across the border.  What could possibly go wrong?

You know when you see a trailer, and you assume all of the funny parts were in the trailer?

Worse still, when you finally do see that movie, and you were right: All of the funny stuff was in the trailer.

That wasn't the case here.

All of the funny spots from the trailer are here in all their splendor, but the movie brings a lot more.

It's mile a minute laughter at the absurd conversations between characters.

Be warned, the writers embrace their R rating wholeheartedly with F bombs falling from the sky like crazy.

"I Never Got To Do This On TV"

But the delivery.. the lines themselves...the situations that the characters find themselves in...

You're going to laugh.

Yes, I know I sound like a hypocrite when I review some of these movies.  R Rated comedies often throw in language to ensure their rating.  It adds nothing to the joke, and is usually not involved in the dialogue other than to be a colorful adjective.


That is not the case here, it's some inspired naughty language that keeps the rapid-fire dialogue buzzing along like a well-oiled machine.  It's the second big-screen collaboration between Steve Faber and Bob Fisher when they co-wrote Wedding Crashers back in 2005.  You'd think Hollywood would want these guys to work together more often?

Speaking of where have they been, Rawson Marshall Thurber, a name that sounds too fake to be real, last hit it big with Dodgeball back in 2004.  Very quiet since then, but this was a welcome return.

"Is This The Way to the Three Amigos Remake?"

Sudeikis is a very underrated actor, and I loved him on Saturday Night Live.  He is a solid character actor, and delivers his lines perfectly.  That he can manage to keep a straight face with the lines he has to deliver... yeah, he's very good.  Whether he'll finally get moved up to leading man status after this film, I hope so.  If not, playing his smooth talking best friend/adversary roles will still be welcome in films.

"Friends Reunion?  They Wish..."

Jennifer Aniston continues to break away from the good girl/romantic comedy mold which she has been stuck with since Friends.  Add this to Horrible Bosses as two of her funniest big-screen efforts and hopefully she will continue varying up her film choices.

Naturally, much of the conflict of the movie comes from The Millers as they race to get the pot back to Denver, being pursued by the drug dealer whose stash they have mistakenly absconded with! 

The rest, is the family conflict of a family that isn't a family...but they begin to feel and act like a family.

"It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time..."

The ending is very appropriate for the film, and gives you as happy of an ending for this film as you can hope for.

Will there be a sequel?

I'm sure there is some way the Millers could ride again.

I'd come back for another go-round!

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  Movies that make only me laugh and can't be viewed by the whole family aren't high on my purchase list.  If it's running on cable some night a few years from now though, I could watch it again for some great laughter.

Looking For A New Job? Sign Up For "The Internship"

Not sure what the film is about?

Google it!

The Story:

Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are two salesmen whose company has folded.  Not sure what to do with their next step in life, Billy gets an idea to try for an internship at Google.  If selected, they will receive full-time jobs when it's all over.  The only problem, these guys are old, slow and not tech-savvy.  However, they could be just the outside-of-the-box thinkers that Google is looking for.

There are some movies you just dread going into.  There's no way it's going to be any good/funny.

This was that movie for me.

Reteaming with Owen Wilson for the first time since Wedding Crashers in 2005, I've got to admit, the two make a great team.

Vince Vaughn plays...well, himself.

And considering he also wrote the story, well, who knows how to write Vince Vaughn dialogue better than Vince Vaughn?

Nobody!

He's got the slick salesman routine down to a science.

Which means, this is going to be much like every other Vince Vaughn performance: you'll either love it, or hate it.

Me?

I love the guy.

He's a hustler, with a heart.

Wilson gets the romantic lead portion of the story, so it's kind of nice that they were able to pull off the fish out of water and a romance, but it all wasn't centered on one character.

By allowing the two storylines to work side by side, nothing feels as forced as comedies or romantic comedies often do.

I mean, to have a guy fighting to land a job and a girl all at the same time, the imagination gets stretched a bit thin on that plot.

But by dividing and conquering the plot, it works, and works really well.

Naturally, the guys have a lot to learn, but they've also got a bit to offer the younger kids that they are teamed with as well.

The movie is both rated and unrated.  I watched the rated version, and I don't think the storyline would be served any better by adding gratuitous nudity to the mix.

At the end of the day, it turned out to be a pretty good movie.

And a great commercial to make you want to work for Google!

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  I could watch it again, but not in any hurry to own it.