Talk About A Potboiler!!!

Rating: 6/10 (9 June 2014)

"We're the Millers" gives new meaning to potboiler. This uneven but entertaining comedy of errors about a wise-cracking, small-time pot dealer who smuggles two metric tons of weed in a recreational vehicle has its share of moments. This is one of those drug movies where the narcotics constitute little more than packing material. Nobody is either shown inhaling marijuana or experiencing a buzz. The producers could have substituted another illegal drug here just to underline the generic quality of the story. It is difficult to imagine how "Wedding Crashers" writers Bob Fisher and Steve Faber could have taken this imaginative premise and blown it. Not only did they concoct the idea but also the screenplay. Who knows how much "Sex Drive" scribe Sean Anders or "Hot Tub Time Machine" writer John Morris altered the premise? Like as not, Anders and Morris probably retooled the narrative. Nevertheless, this criminal comedy is not for people who prefer clean, conventional comedy. While the dialogue is riddled profanity, the subject matter is almost as objectionable. For example, another RV couple want to indulge in group sex to enliven their sex life. The funniest joke qualifies also as the most gross. Will Poulter is bitten on the testicle by a big hairy spider, and his testicle inflates like a balloon. Naturally, "Dodge Ball: A True Underdog Story" director Rawson Marshall Thurber gives us a fleeting glimpse of this abnormality. You'll have to pause your Blu-ray or DVD to get a good glance at it. Admittedly, this comedy could have been worse. Stereotypes abound for comic purposes since this is broadly told comedy. The big-time drug dealers are depicted as despicable, and Ed Helms emerges as the slime of the slime. The cartel drug kingpin likes to shoot first and worry about the consequences afterward. The DEA Agent is depicted as flawed but human. The whole idea of a fake family and the evolution of their kinship is remotely appealing. None of them want to be a part of the family. Circumstances beyond their control compel them to take part in the crime. The eternally youthful Jennifer Aniston appears to be more intent on proving that she hasn't grown old and flabby with her tame stripper routine. Alas, she doesn't strip down to her bare buns. The whole enterprise is hopelessly conventional even when it struggles to be crude.
Our hapless hero, David (Jason Sudeikis of "Horrible Bosses"), rushes to the rescue of a homeless girl, Casey (Emma Roberts of "Nancy Drew"), when three knife-wielding thugs try to pinch her iPhone. David intervenes in the fracas after naive Kenny Rossmore (Will Poulter of "Son of Rambow") proves how ineffectual that he is. The street hoodlums take all of David's narcotics and his money. When David's drug boss Brad Gurdlinger (Ed Helms of "The Hangover") finally catches up with the elusive David, he cuts him a deal to compensate for his considerable losses. Reluctantly, David agrees to pick up a massive load of marijuana in Mexico. During a conversation on the street after his meeting with Brad, David discovers the perfect gimmick to ensure that he is not busted. He assembles a pseudo-family because the authorities turn a blind eye to a family in an RV. One of the David's customers, who owes him money, is shacking up in the same apartment complex with a stripper, Rose O'Reilly (Jennifer Aniston) who has to quit her job. The man who runs the strip joint changes his mind and makes his girls perform fellatio on his customers. Sickened and degraded by this new rule, Rose walks off the job. Reluctantly, she joins David. Along the way, our heroes run afoul of other ruthless drug dealers. The treacherous Brad has told David to introduce himself as the man who serves Pablo Chacon. After David rolls off the premises with more dope that he could ever imagine, we learn that Brad lied when he told David to use Pablo's name. Veteran character actor Luis Guzman has a minor role as a corrupt Mexican cop who is gay.
Look out for the language if profanity is a concern. "We're The Millers" appears to have gotten its R-rating for its language and the use of the F-bomb.