We're the Millers (2013) Movie Review: A Fake Family That Somehow Becomes Real

We're the Millers is a comedy built around one ridiculous idea: what happens when a small-time drug dealer has to create a fake family to smuggle marijuana across the Mexican border?

The answer is a road trip filled with awkward situations, terrible decisions, unexpected friendships, and a group of strangers who slowly begin acting more like a real family than they ever expected.

Starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, and Will Poulter, the movie combines adult comedy with a surprisingly warm story about people who don't really fit anywhere else finding a place together.

At first, the four members of the Miller family are only pretending to be related.

By the end, that becomes much harder to believe.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

The Story

David Clark is a small-time marijuana dealer living in Denver.

His life seems relatively simple until his stash and money are stolen by criminals.

David then discovers that his supplier, Brad Gurdlinger, has a much bigger job available.

Brad wants David to travel to Mexico, pick up a large shipment of marijuana, and bring it back to the United States.

There's one major problem.

Crossing the border with a massive amount of marijuana is extremely risky.

David needs something that will make him look completely ordinary.

His solution is ridiculous but surprisingly effective.

He creates a fake family.

David recruits his stripper neighbor Rose as his fake wife, a teenage runaway named Casey as his fake daughter, and his socially awkward young neighbor Kenny as his fake son.

Together, they become the Millers.

Their cover story is that they're an ordinary American family going on a vacation.

Of course, absolutely nothing about their trip is ordinary.

The Fake Family

The central joke of the movie is that these four people are terrible at pretending to be a family.

David is selfish and primarily concerned with completing the job.

Rose agrees to participate because she needs money.

Casey is rebellious and doesn't particularly care what David thinks.

Kenny is innocent, awkward, and desperate to fit in.

They have almost nothing in common.

Yet that is exactly what makes their interactions funny.

They argue constantly, embarrass each other, and repeatedly threaten to abandon the entire plan.

But they also begin learning about one another.

The longer the trip continues, the more their fake family starts becoming real.

David Clark

Jason Sudeikis plays David, the man responsible for bringing the group together.

David initially sees everyone as part of a business arrangement.

Rose is his fake wife.

Casey is his fake daughter.

Kenny is his fake son.

As long as everyone plays their role, David believes the plan will work.

But David isn't particularly good at being responsible.

He spends most of his life looking after himself, and the fake family forces him into situations where he has to think about other people.

His biggest change comes from realizing that the people around him aren't simply tools for completing his drug-smuggling job.

They have become his friends.

Rose O'Reilly

Jennifer Aniston plays Rose, a stripper who becomes David's fake wife.

Rose is much more capable than David initially expects.

She knows how to deal with difficult people, understands how to manipulate situations, and isn't afraid to tell David when he's being an idiot.

Her relationship with David also becomes increasingly important.

At first, they're simply pretending to be married.

But as the trip continues, their fake relationship begins developing genuine affection.

The movie uses their relationship for comedy, but it also gives the story an emotional center.

Rose doesn't simply become part of the fake family.

She becomes someone David genuinely cares about.

Kenny Rossmore

Will Poulter plays Kenny, a socially awkward teenager who lives near David.

Kenny is perhaps the most innocent member of the group.

He doesn't have much experience with relationships, the outside world, or the kind of chaotic situations David and Rose are used to.

That innocence makes him an easy target for jokes.

But Kenny also gets one of the biggest character arcs in the movie.

He gradually becomes more confident and starts standing up for himself.

The fake family gives him something he didn't really have before: people who actually care about him.

Casey Mathis

Emma Roberts plays Casey, a teenage runaway who joins the group as their fake daughter.

Casey is independent and sarcastic, but she is also clearly dealing with problems of her own.

Like the others, she doesn't exactly have a traditional family waiting for her.

Her relationship with David and the rest of the group slowly changes as the trip progresses.

The important thing is that none of them planned to become a family.

It simply happens.

The Road Trip

Once the Millers begin their journey, everything starts going wrong.

They encounter border agents, criminals, other travelers, and situations that threaten to expose their fake identities.

The movie uses the road-trip structure to create one ridiculous situation after another.

The family has to constantly maintain the illusion that they are normal.

That becomes increasingly difficult because their behavior is anything but normal.

The humor comes from watching them try to act like a typical family while hiding the fact that they're transporting a huge shipment of marijuana.

The Comedy

The humor in We're the Millers is definitely not subtle.

The movie relies on awkward situations, adult jokes, uncomfortable conversations, physical comedy, and characters making terrible decisions.

A lot of the comedy comes from the contrast between how the Millers look from the outside and what is actually happening inside the family.

To strangers, they're supposed to be a normal suburban family.

Inside the RV, they're four strangers arguing about money, relationships, drugs, and personal problems.

That contrast creates many of the movie's funniest moments.

The film also isn't afraid to make its characters look completely ridiculous.

They fail.

They panic.

They misunderstand situations.

And somehow, they keep moving forward.

The Neighboring Family

One of the movie's funniest additions is another family they meet during the trip.

The Fitzgeralds appear to be the perfect, wholesome American family.

They are polite, wealthy, friendly, and seemingly flawless.

The Millers, meanwhile, are a complete disaster.

The contrast between the two families becomes a recurring source of comedy.

But the Fitzgeralds aren't quite as innocent as they initially appear.

The interaction between the two families gives the movie another layer of humor while showing how different the Millers are from the traditional idea of a perfect family.

When the Fake Family Becomes Real

Although the movie is primarily a comedy, its emotional center is surprisingly simple.

These people need each other.

David begins the journey because he needs to solve a financial problem.

Rose wants money.

Casey wants freedom.

Kenny wants acceptance.

None of them is looking for a family.

But during the trip, they gradually become protective of one another.

David starts taking responsibility for the others.

Rose begins treating Casey and Kenny like actual family.

Casey becomes more comfortable around the group.

Kenny gains confidence.

The fake family starts becoming genuine.

The Final Act

Eventually, the drug-smuggling plan falls apart.

The Millers are exposed to increasing danger, and David realizes that completing the deal isn't worth sacrificing the people he has come to care about.

The situation forces him to choose between money and his new family.

That decision completes his character development.

At the beginning of the movie, David would have chosen the money without thinking twice.

By the end, he understands that the people beside him are more important.

The group ultimately manages to survive their chaotic adventure, although their lives are obviously never going to return to exactly what they were before.

What Works Best

The biggest strength of We're the Millers is its cast.

Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston have excellent chemistry, while Emma Roberts and Will Poulter give the group a strong contrast.

Each character has a different personality, and their differences create most of the comedy.

The movie also benefits from its simple road-trip structure.

The audience doesn't need to understand a complicated conspiracy.

The goal is straightforward: get across the border, deliver the marijuana, and get home.

Everything that goes wrong along the way provides the comedy.

What Doesn't Work as Well

The movie's biggest weakness is that the story is fairly predictable.

You can quickly see where the relationships are going.

The fake family will eventually become a real family.

David will become more responsible.

The group will eventually have to choose between money and each other.

Some of the jokes also rely heavily on crude humor.

That won't appeal to everyone.

The movie is very much a product of its time and isn't afraid to push uncomfortable jokes as far as possible.

Still, the chemistry between the characters makes the predictable storyline work.

Is We're the Millers Worth Watching?

If you enjoy road-trip comedies with dysfunctional characters, We're the Millers is an easy choice.

It isn't a complicated movie, and it doesn't try to be.

The story gives the characters a simple goal and then repeatedly makes that goal more difficult.

The comedy comes from watching four people who barely know each other slowly become dependent on one another.

And underneath all the ridiculous situations is a surprisingly warm message about family.

Sometimes a family isn't necessarily the people you're born with.

Sometimes it's the people you unexpectedly find along the way.

Final Thoughts

We're the Millers works because its ridiculous premise is supported by a cast that knows exactly how to play it.

David, Rose, Casey, and Kenny begin as four strangers pretending to be a family.

None of them expects the trip to change their lives.

But the longer they spend together, the more they realize that the fake family they've created might actually be the closest thing to a real family any of them has had.

The movie is crude, chaotic, and often completely ridiculous.

But beneath the jokes is a simple story about people who are lonely in different ways finding somewhere they belong.

That combination of comedy and unexpected heart is what makes the movie more memorable than its outrageous premise suggests.

Final Verdict – We're the Millers is a funny, chaotic road-trip comedy with great chemistry between its four leads. It may rely heavily on crude humor and predictable storytelling, but its characters and surprisingly heartfelt message make it an entertaining watch.

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