For some, Will Ferrell took a while to really find his feet. A lot of ostentatious bit parts seemingly grated on folk before he became a cult hero with the uber-successful triple whammy of Old School, Elf and Anchorman.
Jason Sudeikis has probably gone down more of the dry-shite Ryan Reynolds route, but still shares a lot of similarities with the early career of Ferrell – both finding success initially as stand-out stars of TV stalwart Saturday Night Live before breaking into movies, being the obvious one.
This should be the movie that bags Sudeikis a broader fanbase as he’s actually very funny in it.
Sudeikis is a lower-rung drug dealer forced to take a trip to Mexico and graduate to ‘drug smuggler’ after he pisses off his supplier (Ed Helms in a glorified cameo). In order to get across the border without being searched, he has to look inconspicuous, so recruits Jennifer Aniston’s stripper to be his “wife,” and misfits Will Poulter and Emma Roberts to play his kids. They paint the perfect picture but in true movie high-jinx, they’re far from it.
Shockingly, We’re the Millers is the first film director Marshall Rawson Thurber has made since exploding onto the scene years ago with Dodgeball, and he’s lost none of his ability to time a gag. What sets this comedy apart from some of the lamer and tamer efforts recently is just that – it’s frequently crass and doesn’t care who it offends.
The cast (while interchangeable on paper) actually manage to bring some verve to proceedings and all bounce off of each other well – with Sudeikis generally the comedic catalyst for laughs.
While the film is being firmly sold on Aniston, this is very much a Jason Sudeikis starring vehicle and he proves here he can improvise and crack wise with the best of ‘em.
Not as funny as comedy of the year, This is the End, but on par with the likes of other successful summer laffers like The Heat.
You could do a lot worse on date night…
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
