Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
Written by Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, and John Morris.
Released by Warner Bros. Pictures

This film came out in 2013. I vaguely remember seeing commercials for it back then, but it didn’t make any impression on me, so I never saw it. But today was an uncommonly rainy day (or at least a rainy morning) in L.A., and I was just staying in. I was flipping the channels on TV and came across this, which was showing on the Comedy Channel. There was nothing else on, so I left it there. And it turned out to be pretty darn good!

Despite being a 12-year-old film, I’ll try to keep major spoilers out of this.

Jason Sudeikis stars as a small-time weed dealer named David. Jennifer Aniston co-stars as Rose, a neighbor in his apartment building who works as a stripper in a local strip club, a job that she clearly hates. Will Poulter plays Kenny, a nerdy teenager who is also a neighbor of David’s, and Emma Roberts plays Casey, a local homeless teenage runaway.

One day, some local thugs steal David’s weed, so now he owes his supplier, Brad, a bunch of money. Brad tells David that in order to make it up to him (and not get killed), Brad needs to drive down to Mexico for him, pick up “a smidge” of marijuana, and bring it back to him. Brad’s nervous about the job, because it means crossing the border with drugs, and he could do serious prison time if he gets caught. So to not look suspicious, and increase his chances of not getting searched, he pays Rose, Kenny, and Casey to come along with him, pretending to be his wife and children, so they’ll look like an all-American family to tourists. They rent an RV, pretend to be the Miller Family, and head for Mexico.

The first surprise is when David arrives at the Mexican compound and finds out that instead of the small amount he was expecting, he’s picking up two tons worth of marijuana. This literally fills up the RV, making crossing the border back to America even riskier. The second surprise is when they find out that the marijuana wasn’t really for Brad, it was for a dangerous Mexican drug lord named Pablo, who then begins to hunt them down, to get his drugs back, and kill them all for stealing from him.

Along the way, they get into all sorts of shenanigans, both funny and outrageous. Despite initially not getting along, they become closer and begin to act like a real family. The film ends on a surprisingly heartwarming note.

The four leads are all perfect in their roles, with fantastic chemistry. This shouldn’t be surprising to me, I liked Sudeikis and Aniston together in Horrible Bosses and its sequel, as well as other individual roles. I’m not as familiar with the work of Poulter and Roberts, but I love them both here. Ed Helms is also hilarious as Brad, stealing every scene he’s in. Nick Hoffman, Katheryn Hahn, and Molly Quinn as Don and Fitzgerald and their daughter Melissa. They’re an American family of tourists that “the Millers” encounter on their way back to America. Their roles in this film initially appear to just be a funny subplot, but they turn out to be much more significant. There’s not a weak link in the bunch here; they all collectively make this film worth watching.

I’ll note that since this was on a pay-cable channel with commercials, it’s obviously censored. I see that it was rated R in its theatrical release, and there is an extended unrated version on DVD. I haven’t seen those (yet), but the fact that this film was so good even without any raunchiness is a testament to its production.

The film was a box office hit, and plans for a sequel eventually fell through. This is sort of a shame, as I’d love to see these characters again, but maybe it’s for the best, as lightning doesn’t always strike twice. If you haven’t seen We’re The Millers, I highly recommend it.