North Texas Daily

Preston Barta / Film Critic

Rating: 3/5

Nearly a decade ago filmmaker Rawson Marshall Thurber directed Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller to new comedic heights in “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” (2004). Since then the director has been on hiatus, with only less than a handful of shorts to his name. Now, Thurber has returned in full comedy force with the outlandishly hilarious “We’re the Millers,” making a true star out of Jason Sudeikis and showing off all the parts that every boy wants to see from Jennifer Aniston.

The story follows David (Sudeikis), a veteran pot dealer who creates a fake family as part of his plan to smuggle a huge shipment of marijuana from Mexico into the United States.

“We’re the Millers” may have a ludicrous plot but the good jokes don’t stop coming, thanks to a script written by Sean Anders, Steve Faber, Bob Fisher and John Morris. These screenwriters do a superb job of keeping the comedy consistent and raunchy. While they may push the envelope a little too far a time or two, they give the actors plenty of chances to show what they can do with the parts they were given.

From an acting standpoint, this is Sudeikis’ show, and he has never been better. He gives his character a great arc as a drug dealer who only cares and lives for himself, but is willing to prove that there is more to him than that. Aniston is a laughing riot as Rose, a stripper who is everything that David is not. She has a heart of gold and treats everyone in her fake family like a real one. Emma Roberts (“Celeste and Jesse Forever,” 2012) also brings the laughs as a smart mouth, runaway teen who’s in desperate need of direction. Will Poulter (“The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” 2010) is a blast to laugh at, serving as the center of nearly every joke as David’s dorky neighbor turned acting son. Polishing off the amusing performances are Nick Offerman (“Parks & Recreation”) and Kathryn Hahn (“Step Brothers,” 2008) as the fun, over-the-top Fitzgeralds, a couple that the Millers run into on their trip, while Ed Helms of “The Hangover” trilogy makes an adequate blackmailing boss.

Despite, or perhaps due to, its laughable plot and the occasional gross excess, “We’re the Millers” is a crowd-pleasing comedy that plays like an updated “National Lampoon’s Vacation” for the “Hangover” generation. It’s a good time from start to finish and one of the most quotable films of the year.

“We’re the Millers” opens today.