Starts off hilariously, but then kind of fades

Rating: 6/10 (31 December 2013)

A disappointment. It's not that I went into it thinking it was going to be great or anything. I was only hoping for a decent comedy with a few laughs. It's that it starts off so great but then kind of fades into nothingness over the course of its runtime. Jason Sudeikis plays a pot dealer who, after losing his stash to muggers, is forced to travel to Mexico by his employer (Ed Helms) to pick up "a smidge" of marijuana for him. Stymied by the task, Sudeikis eventually comes up with a plan: recruit three misfits he knows to pretend to be his vacationing family, in the hopes that the border patrol will overlook it. There's his nerdy next door neighbor (Will Poulter, who several years ago starred in the excellent film Son of Rambow), a runaway teen girl (Emma Roberts) and a stripper (Jennifer Aniston). The four misfits bond and become more and more family-like. Problem is, all the best jokes occur in the first half hour. It really runs out of steam. After escaping Mexico, the Millers accidentally pair up with a DEA agent (Nick Offerman) and his family (Kathryn Hahn plays his wife). I love Offerman and Hahn, but the film never knows what to do with them (Offerman does get a couple of awesome moments). The film also never really knows what to do with Aniston or Roberts (there's a decent subplot near the end where Roberts falls for a carny and her "parents" try to stop her). Sudeikis starts off really well, but as the film runs out of steam he seems to be working overtime to get it back on track. Helms is probably the most consistent of the actors. He's great in all his scenes. This film isn't too bad a way to waste time, but I wish it were better.