Enough Laughs to Make It Worth Watching

Rating: Null/10 (28 August 2013)

We're the Millers (2013)
*** (out of 4)
A low-level drug dealer (Jason Sudeikis) hires a stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a punk (Emma Roberts) and a dork (Will Poulter) to be his "family" so that he can sneak in and out of Mexico with a large amount of marijuana. Obviously, there's one trouble after another, which leads to plenty of laughs. WE'RE THE MILLERS is a good but not great comedy. It certainly wasn't the laugh riot I was hoping for but when the laughs are on the mark they're strong enough to make the film worth sitting through. I'll get the negative comment out of the way first and that's the fact that many of the jokes just seem to fall a little short of their punchline. In other words, several times I thought the jokes really could have delivered more had they crossed a certain line but instead of doing so they took a safe way out and the laughs weren't as big as they could have. When the film works best is when it really starts to go "naughty" and this includes a hilarious sequence where the "mother" and "sister" teach the little brother how to properly kiss. Another excellent sequence takes place in a tent when a new friend wants to get a little close to Aniston's breasts. The film benefits from four very good performances that really make you feel like this is a fake family on the run from a variety of characters. All four actors do a very nice job in their roles and this is especially true for Poulter and Roberts as the children. And yes, Aniston has a very hot body for the stripper role but don't expect her to cross the line of nudity. The film moves along at a pretty good pace but I must admit that it started to run a tad bit too long. Still, there are enough laugh here to make the film worth watching and the four leads are so good together I doubt many would complain if a sequel was to follow.