Review: We're the Millers

Comedy can be a difficult art form. Sure, anyone can tell a joke, but not everyone can make that joke funny. Some jokes don't work unless they're being told in a very particular way or by a certain person. By that same standard, comedy in film is also very difficult. There are so many things that can go wrong, so many chances for jokes to fail, so many actors whose time may have long since past *coughcoughadamsandlercough*, and these all have to be balanced in a creative manner by the writer and director. With so much that can go wrong, it's always refreshing when it goes right.

If getting fingerbanged in the ear by Ron Swanson is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

We're the Millers is the story of a drug dealer who ends up in some trouble after he's robbed. His product, money, everything, it's all taken and now he has to pay back his supplier. But that supplier has a deal to offer him that seems simple enough: smuggle an RV full of weed back to him and he'll not only forgive the debt but he will pay him for the work. Initially I looked at that and thought it sounded like Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke with a sprinkling of the Robin Williams vehicle RV. But, it's much better than that, it really is. Our hero, Dave, has to get a fake family together for his little excursion. Lucky for him, his building has people available in the form of the upstairs stripper, the fuck-up next door who got him robbed, and the homeless girl who the fuck-up was trying to save resulting in the aforementioned robbery. This can't go wrong, right?

I want to pay you money to call me daddy, alright?

So, after some mild bumps and makeovers, they get to Mexico where they get to enjoy the hospitality of drug cartel members and their families. For future reference? Always check your fruit for large spiders. Trust me on this. The RV is literally loaded in every nook and cranny with pot. So much that Jerry Garcia's ghost most assuredly haunts it. Now it's just the simple matter of making it across the border and back to the guy who hired Dave. I mean, sure, there are few incidents people face when crossing the border with illegal contraband. Like a Mexican cop who wants a blowjob from you (or your fake son) or dogs that smell something off about the RV, but those are trivialities.

So, which one of you boys has the softest lips? I don't wanna get chafed.

Oh, and there is the minor issue of them having unknowingly stolen from a cartel boss who is now after them. Yeah, that might come up later. But for the most part it's a pretty nice innocent journey for the fake family as they gradually bond and learn to really care about one another. They meet another family at the border who makes themselves rather forcibly available when the RV breaks down. And our young virgin fuck-up finds himself very attracted to the daughter of the other family. But he's so awkward that he doesn't really know what to do. Luckily for him his fake-sister and fake-mom step up to the plate.

Is it considered incest if you make out with women who are only being paid to be your family?

He picks up some pointers, but the girl of his dreams finds them all having a "family moment" and sorta freaks out. The cartel guy shows up when they go back to their RV the next day and it looks like things may be turning out badly for the Millers, until Jennifer Aniston saves them all with the power of sex. And let's be honest, everyone has probably thought about sex with Jennifer Aniston at one time or another.

You're probably going to think about it again too. Just so you know.

They escape and the adventure continues on. Do they succeed? Does Dave ever get Rose in the sack? Does the virgin ever get devirginized? Does Casey ever call Dave daddy? Ok, that last one was a bit wrong, sorry. Well, I don't want to say too much more and ruin the film. And I have to say, this film is definitely worth the time it takes to watch it. It's funny, clever, charming, has a great cast who all deliver their lines well, and the writing doesn't disappoint. It's easily one of the funniest comedies to come out in the last year and it really gives a refreshing take on the rather stale stoner comedy concept by being a lot more than you'd ever expect. And of course...

NICK "RON SWANSON" OFFERMAN IS IN IT!

That should really be the tagline right there. The man is never not funny and everything he touches turns out great. His character is easily the most memorable too and he steals every scene he's in. In closing, you should probably go watch this as soon as possible. Buy it if you can, because you'll want to watch it more than once, I promise. Until next time, laugh loudly, live proudly, and have no ragrets.

You know what I'm sayin'?