We're the Millers (2013) Review

3.5/5

This is one of the most pleasantly surprising films of the summer, if not the year.
The laughs roll in one after the other, with what I would call a 3:1 hit to miss ratio, and enough crazy antics to satisfy an audience member just looking to be entertained.
This is not a film meant for Oscars, but a film meant to keep you laughing and make you like these characters who really have no business being liked.
Jason Sudeikis is a fantastic leading man who keeps up the energy and gives us someone to root for. Jennifer Aniston has amazing talent and somehow manages to elevate films like this above what they would otherwise be. Emma Roberts is convincing and has one of the more realistic character arcs, but Will Poulter damn near steals the show with his oft confused look and deadpan delivery. Ed Helms is always welcome in any capacity. Nick Offerman is a tad underused here, as his expressions alone are classic (you may know him as Ron Swanson in the television series Parks and Recreation).
Normally, any amount of sentimentality in a comedy such as this is an instant turn-off, but there is something honest about the beginning snapshots into "tell-a-message" land that I didn't mind. By the end of the film, there are just about slapping you in the face with it.
There is enough raw comedy here to please just about everyone, and a post-credit blooper is well worth the price of admission alone. The characters here are so likable, I must admit I would be happy to see them again.