We’re The Millers
New Line Cinema
Rated R for pervasive profanity, crude sexuality, drug use and full-frontal male nudity
Aniston And Sudeikis Pose As Spouses In Raunchy Road Comedy
David Burke (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer with a big problem. He’s just been robbed of all of his cash and stash, leaving him indebted to an impatient drug kingpin (Ed Helms) to the tune of $44,000.
Now, David’s only hope of wiping the slate clean rests with accepting a proverbial “offer you can’t refuse” from skeptical Brad, namely, to smuggle a couple of tons of marijuana across the Mexican border. Figuring a family in an RV would look a lot less suspicious trying to get through customs than a single guy with a panel truck, he starts looking for folks down on their luck willing to pose for a few bucks as his wife and kids.
All he can find on such short notice are Kenny (Will Poulter), a naïve, home alone kid who lives down the hall; Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a struggling stripper at the local gentlemen’s club; and Casey (Emma Roberts), a streetwise teen runaway. But will the faking foursome be able to pass themselves off as a typical suburban family over the course of their 4th of July weekend jaunt?
That is the intriguing premise of We’re The Millers, a raunchy road comedy directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball). Of course, the faux family has a really hard time maintaining their cover, such as when supposed mother and daughter are spotted making out by a DEA Agent (Nick Offerman) they unwittingly befriend en route.
While certifiably funny in spots, consider this a fair warning: much of the movie relies on a coarse brand of humor apt to shock fans of co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, given the relatively tame, tv fare they’re known for. For instance, there’s the hilarious, if graphic, sight gag featuring a swollen testicle that’s been bitten by a tarantula.
The dialogue can be crude, too, especially when characters discuss their sexuality and bodily functions. But betwixt and between the bottom-feeding jokes, director Thurber continues to ratchet up the tension as we watch the Millers do their best to deliver the weed despite alarming the authorities and being trailed by a vicious mobster (Tomer Sisley) with a claim on the contraband.
Picture Cheech & Chong on a National Lampoon Vacation!
Very Good (3 stars)
Running time: 110 minutes
2 Guns
Universal Pictures
Rated R for profanity, brief nudity and pervasive violence
Washington And Wahlberg Co-Star In Implausible Crime Caper
DEA Agent Robert Trench (Denzel Washington) and Naval Intelligence Officer Michael Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) have both infiltrated a drug syndicate run by Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), a creep who carries the head of a decapitated adversary around in a bowling bag. Therefore, the imbedded lawmen are careful to make sure their cover isn’t blown while bringing down the ruthless kingpin.
However, neither of the narcs is at all aware of other’s true identity, which means they aren’t prepared to serve as backup in a sticky situation. Worse, when an operation does go bad, they are initially suspicious of each other.
But once they clear up the mutual case of mistaken identity, they conspire not only to crack the cartel but to relieve it of $43 million in ill-gotten gains sitting in a bank vault. This development doesn’t sit well with Earl (Bill Paxton), Papi’s accomplice holding the key to the emptied safe deposit box.
Directed by Iceland’s Baltasar Kormakur (Contraband), 2 Guns is basically an adrenaline-fueled buddy flick featuring a high body count designed to satiate the bloodlust of the lovers of gratuitous gore. Here a body, there a body, everywhere a body-body.
The picture has its share of titillation, too, most of it coming courtesy of an inscrutable moll played by pretty Paula Patton, real-wife of crooner Robin Thicke. The problem is that the preposterous plot never pretends to be plausible, a failing perhaps forgiven by diehard Denzel Washington fans eager to see him trading quips with Mark Wahlberg or cavorting carnally opposite a topless Ms. Patton.
As for standouts in the supporting cast, Edward James Olmos and Bill Paxton do great jobs of portraying a couple of readily-detestable villains. But their never-developed characters are so simplistically drawn that the audience’s job is just to sit back and wait for these bad guys’ inevitable demise.
A remarkably unengaging adventure, given its incessant attempt at overstimulation.
Fair (1 star)
Running Time: 109 minutes
OPENING THIS WEEK
Kam’s Kapsules:
For movies opening August 9, 2013
Elysium (R for pervasive profanity and graphic violence) Sci-fi thriller, set in 2154, in a world where the wealthy live on an exclusive space station while the rest of humanity is stuck on a polluted, overpopulated planet that looks like a Third World slum. Plot revolves around an ailing factory worker’s (Matt Damon) attempt to reach the heavily fortified, orbiting retreat for some urgently needed cancer treatment. With Jodie Foster, Alice Braga and Sharlto Copley.
Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (PG for scary images, mild epithets and fantasy violence) Logan Lerman reprises the title role in this sequel based on the Rick Riordan novel of the same name which finds the son of Poseidon and his pals presently embarking on an epic journey in search of the fabled Golden Fleece. Cast includes Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Leven Rambin and Stanley Tucci.
Planes (PG for mild action and rude humor) Animated adventure about a rickety, farm crop duster with a fear of heights (Dane Cook) who with the help of a veteran aviator (Stacy Keach) prepares to compete in a famous, high-flying aerial race against the dastardly reigning champ (Roger Craig Smith). Voice cast includes Val Kilmer, Teri Hatcher, Cedric The Entertainer, Brad Garrett, John Cleese, Sinbad and Larry The Cable Guy.
I Give It A Year (R for profanity, sexuality and graphic nudity) Romantic comedy examining the toll exacted on a newlywed couple’s (Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall) marriage when the groom starts spending time with his ex-girlfriend (Anna Faris) while the bride finds herself attracted to a business client (Simon Baker). With Alex Macqueen, Minnie Driver and Stephen Merchant.
In A World… (R for profanity and sexual references) Lake Bell wrote, directed and stars in this dysfunctional family comedy as an aspiring voiceover artist attempting to follow in the footsteps of her movie trailer legend father (Fred Melamed), despite the fact that the field is dominated by stentorian-throated males. Cast includes Geena Davis, Rob Corddry, Jeff Garlin and Nick Offerman.
Jug Face (R for profanity, sexuality and gory violence) Hillbilly horror flick about a teenager (Lauren Ashley Carter), impregnated by her brother (Daniel Manche), who tries to escape from her backwoods community of redneck moonshiners when she becomes aware of their plan to sacrifice her to a wild animal in a deep pit.
Lovelace (R for nudity, profanity, drug use, domestic violence and graphic sexuality) Amanda Seyfried plays the title character in this sexplicit biopic about Linda Lovelace (1949-2002), popular porn star-turned-anti smut crusader who claimed she’d been forced to perform at gunpoint by her domineering husband (Peter Sarsgaard). Ensemble includes James Franco, Sharon Stone,JunoTemple, Adam Brody, Chris Noth, Robert Patrick, Eric Roberts and Hank Azaria.
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear (Unrated) Bait-and-switch documentary in which aspiring actors answering a casting call are instead merely interviewed about what life is like in the former Soviet bloc nation. (In Georgian with subtitles)
Off Label (Unrated) Prescription drug expose’ highlighting the explosion of the use of pharmaceuticals inAmerica as seen through the eyes of eight unique patients.
Prince Avalanche (R for sexuality) English-language adaptation of Iceland’s Either Way, the odd couple comedy about a loner (Paul Rudd) who leaves the city for the country with his girlfriend’s (Gina Grande) halfwit brother (Emile Hirsch) to spend the summer painting traffic lines along a rural roadway ravaged by wildfire. With Lance LeGault, Joyce Payne and Lynn Shelton.
