We’re the Millers is another raunchy comedy outing from director Rawson Thurber (Dodgeball), it stars Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Will Poulter and Emma Roberts as they travel across the United States as a fake family with an RV full of smuggled marijuana, along their journey they meet a slew of different characters including a drug lord, and a DEA agent. The family is formed of a drug dealer (Sudeikis), a stripper (Aniston), the homeless runaway (Roberts), and the virgin who’s never even kissed a girl (Poulter), it’s fake family dysfunction at its finest. While this premise does sound funny on paper, the film, despite having quite a few laughs, doesn’t exactly deliver in the ways it should and is never quite as funny as it should be.
Steve Faber (Wedding Crashers) who wrote the script, never really pays off the most essential set-up throughout the entire movie, it’s about a fake family coming together, but it decides to be raunchy instead of meaningful. A good comedy will blend the jokes and drama elements to make for a good ending (see Little Miss Sunshine). The story feels lazy and it takes the audience from one subplot to the next until finally leading into Jennifer Aniston’s greatest five minutes of screen time. There are more awkward moments than anything, such as the tent scene, where I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or turn away.
The lead characters are the real shining part of We’re the Millers, they contradict themselves constantly, and the performances are spot on. Despite having a lazy, under-developed story, the characters prove to be the driving force and provide the most laughs. While the side characters that they meet with on their journey are underwhelming and are there to keep the story from falling flat, which doesn't always work. But the onscreen chemistry between the leads is real and prevalent throughout the film, and the out takes at the end are sure to bring more smiles. With the exception of Ed Helms who simply plays the same character he always plays. Sudeikis proves he can pull a lead performance and his story archs relatively well.
It’s not going to change the way we see road trip movies, but We’re the Millers is worth the watch. It provides a good amount of belly laughs and the performances are a pleasure to watch. The writing is weak, and it doesn’t pay-off anything like it should. It’s safe escapism, never quite taking things over-the-top, but when it does it delivers some genuine laughs (the kissing scene in particular). The main leads are a joy to watch while some of the other side characters are largely forgettable, much like the whole of the film. But it’s a good way to kill two hours. I give We’re the Millers 3 stars out of 5.