Official Synposis
David Burke (Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele includes chefs and soccer moms, but no kids—after all, he has his scruples. After his stash and his cash are stolen, leaving him in major debt to his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms), he must become a big-time drug smuggler by bringing Brad’s latest shipment in from Mexico. One fake wife, two pretend kids and a huge, shiny RV later, the “Millers” are headed south of the border for a Fourth of July weekend that is sure to end with a bang.
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The movie starts out well, which is important because the overall story is extremely outlandish. The thought of a pseudo-family bringing in a large supply of drugs from Mexico in a large RV is pretty ridiculous at best (suspend your disbelief for this one, folks). Thankfully, this film, while ridiculous to begin with, treats this idea as if it was a well constructed plan, although by the end of the movie we (the audience) knew that it couldn’t end any other way. This is one of those movies that has a hit/miss value to it.
And for the most part, it is a hit.
Instead of shallowly individualizing pockets of comedy, it has a healthy, wacky connection between them. That’s the sign of a decent comedy at worst. For example, the gathering of the ‘family’ in the film actually makes somewhat sense. Jason Sudeikis is a petty pot dealer that tries to help a girl in trouble (Emma Roberts) and attempts to help good-guy Kenny (Will Poulter) from getting his ass beaten by a gang of thugs. For his kindness, he gets robbed, gets all his pot stolen and left owing a major drug dealer, Brad (Ed Helms), $40,000. To help his situation, his stripper/debt-ridden neighbor, Rose (Jennifer Aniston), Kenny (who has been abandoned by his mom) and Casey (who has abandoned her parents) agree to act as a family for a price, so that David can smuggle drugs from Mexico and pay back Brad. Again, it’s a off-the-wall setup, but it makes sense in the scheme of things and it simply starts off the film right. Once you start a comedy off on the right foot, the world of the comedy is your oyster.
From that point on, things just keep rolling. You run into impossible situations that are somewhat predictable, such as deadly spiders in fruit that end up in Kenny’s pants. You also get insanely overwritten villains (hilarious nonetheless) with Tomer Sisley’s Pablo Chacon, and one Nick Offerman, who is absolute gold in this film, though his moment is brief, but important nonetheless.
While I don’t want to give too much away because ‘expect the unexpected’ is what drives this comedy, I can assure you that the trip to get to the ending is well done. Writers Bob Fisher and Steve Faber, and director Rawson Marshall Thurber did a helluva job of creating a very balanced film that respects its own insanity. Hopefully they can get this gang together again, especially Sudeikis and Aniston (love them together) and produce another comedy of this caliber.
With all this gushiness, understand that the film isn’t perfect. It has moments where the story becomes a bit dull, though it doesn’t stay dull long enough to really affect the overall adventure. For example, when the family reaches the county fair, the story seems to stall a bit, as it’s trying to decide what to do next. Eventually the story makes the right decision to move on, but that small period of uncertainty does drag the movie down just a bit. There are small pockets of this type of lull lying around throughout, but again not too many to really affect the film.
If you’re looking for a good comedy then you should really try We’re the Millers. It’s very entertaining (both the theatrical and unrated versions), but it’s extremely lewd, so you have been warned.
As for the Blu-ray, it’s good for the most part. There are some visible issues with compression when the filter changes during the Mexico scene. Outside, in a yellowish environment, you can see some graininess during these scenes. The graininess also appears in some of the darker shot scenes (when they’re in the drug warehouse in Mexico especially). The majority of the film is damn good though, as it focuses a heavy amount of reds, blues and greens on the audience when it needs to, but definitely not the best from Warner Home Video — and they’re usually spot on with their theatrical releases.
As for the audio, you get this movie delivered to you in DTS-HD 5.1 and it comes with a film aspect ratio of 2.4:1.
Finally, here’s what you’re looking at in terms of features:
· Extended Cut of the Film
· Miller’s Unleashed – Outtakes Overload
· Stories from the Road
o Extreme Aniston
o The Miller Makeovers
o Road Trippin’ with the Millers
o Don’t Suck Venom
o Getting Out of Sticky Situation
o I Am Pablo Chacon
o Rollin’ in the RV
· Livin’ It Up with Brad
· When Paranoia Sets In
· Deleted Scenes
· Gags & More Outtakes
All of this is gold that adds to the film and extends the life of the comedy. The gags and outtakes is pretty good, though the end of the film credits are better (the ‘Friends’ homage is beautiful). You get a nice set of small features that works and does well to make your We’re the Millers experience that much better.
Own “We’re the Millers” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and HD Digital Download Today!
