'We're The Millers' review by Captain Raptor

'We're The Millers' review by Captain Raptor

I had a big ol' bag of mixed feelings before seeing We're The Millers. I was underwhelmed by Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston's previous team-up Horrible Bosses, but it also stars British child actor Will Poulter, who has a habit of being absolutely brilliant in awful things (School of Comedy, one of the later Narnia films), so I was fairly sure that I would at least see one entertaining performance. 

We're The Millers is the type of movie Judd Apatow wishes he was still making. It's undeniably crass, but infused with heart and still contains a number of more intelligent jokes. It's leftfield enough to stand out from the crowd, but not so much that it becomes niche or inaccessible. For such a manic and energetic film, it's very precisely made. In short, I think that We're The Millers is a total comedic triumph. It lessens my opinion of The World's End and This Is The End, because they were comparatively patchy and had less amusing sections, whereas this film is funny start-to-finish. Jason Sudeikis is so often lumbered with an unfunny 'nice guy' part, and it's refreshing to see him play a character that has some bite. The entire cast nail their parts, in particular Poulter and Sudeikis, and Aniston gives her most entertaining performance in years. Nick Offerman makes a pleasing appearance, essentially playing a slightly weirder version of his character from Parks & Recreation. The film starts with very little sentimentality, and as the characters traded acidic barbs and at times bullied each other (and by 'each other' I mean Will Poulter's hopeless and endearing simpleton Kenny) I laughed and laughed and laughed. 

By the end of the film, this has descended into sugary sweet declarations of affection. I'm on the fence about the issue - the characters are all very likable and I found myself genuinely wanting their cliched happy ending, but it still wasn't very funny, and it was refreshing to see a comedy that wasn't too afraid to be mean. Ed Helms' drug lord is funny on occasion, but it's such an exaggerated character that when the jokes don't stick it becomes kind of irritating. Aside from those gripes, I had pretty much no problems with the film. I guess it can be a bit simplistic at times, but damn, when a cast is as spot-on with delivery and timing as this, it doesn't really matter.

We're The Millers isn't revolutionary, and it's not what you'd call intellectual. However, it's an excellent 90 minutes, with a great cast and script and enough new ideas and humour to please any crowd. Most of the best comedies these days contain an extra element - over-the-top action, or something fantastical like a talking bear or superheroes or the apocalypse - and it's pleasing to know that there are still people who can provide plentiful laughs with just four misfits and an RV (and a metric tonne of weed). Do I recommend We're The Millers? Only if you have a pulse.