We're the Millers

For the similarly titled sitcom, see The Millers.
We're the Millers

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Bob Fisher
  • Steve Faber
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Barry Peterson
Edited by Michael L. Sale
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
Running time
 110 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $37 million[2]
Box office $270 million[3]

We're the Millers is a 2013 American satirical crime comedy film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. The film's screenplay was written by Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, and John Morris, based on a story by Fisher and Faber. The film follows a small-time pot dealer (Sudeikis) who convinces his neighbors – stripper Rose (Aniston), teenager Kenny (Poulter) and runaway Casey (Roberts) – to create a fake family, in order to smuggle in drugs from Mexico into US soil. It stars Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, and Ed Helms.

It was released on August 7, 2013 by Warner Bros. Pictures through sister studio New Line Cinema. The film received mixed reviews from film critics, but was a box-office success, grossing $270 million worldwide during its theatrical run, against a $37 million budget. The film was nominated for four People's Choice Awards, and six MTV Movie Awards, winning two. A sequel is currently in development, with Adam Sztykiel set to write the script.[4]

Plot

A low-level marijuana dealer named David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) who lives in Denver is robbed of his money and stash, some of which he owes to his wealthy drug lord supplier Brad Gurdlinger (Ed Helms). After David is brought to him, Gurdlinger forces David to smuggle marijuana from Mexico as a solution to clear his debt. Realizing that one man attempting to get through customs is too suspicious, he hires a stripper neighbor stage-named Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a runaway and petty thief named Casey (Emma Roberts), and his 18-year-old neighbor Kenny (Will Poulter), to pose as a bogus family called the "Millers". When the Millers reach the compound, they find out that the amount of marijuana they were picking up is not "a smidge" as Gurdlinger had informed them, but actually two tons. Because of the extra load of the marijuana on the RV, one of the radiator hoses breaks while going up a steep incline. A family they had encountered at the border, the Fitzgeralds, consisting of Don (Nick Offerman), Edith (Kathryn Hahn), and Melissa (Molly Quinn), catch up to them and tow the Millers' RV to a repair shop. On the trip to the shop, David learns that Don Fitzgerald is a DEA agent after finding his badge and gun in the glove compartment.

The marijuana turns out to be stolen from Pablo Chacon's cartel where Gurdlinger had David pose as an agent of Chacon. The next day, when the Millers head to the shop to pick up the RV, Chacon (Tomer Sisley) and his henchman One-Eye (Matthew Willig) are waiting for them and prepare to execute the family. They immediately tell Chacon that they are not a real family and that they did not know they were stealing from him. Rose is given a chance to prove that she is a stripper by dancing, and when she gets close, turns a steam vent onto Chacon allowing the Millers to escape in the RV with Kenny behind the wheel. Due to Kenny's erratic driving, the RV veers off the highway and a tarantula, hiding in a bowl of fruit, crawls up Kenny's leg and bites his testicle.

Kenny has a severe allergic reaction to the bite, and the Millers head to the hospital near a carnival for the 4th of July. This further delays the delivery of the contraband. During their wait, David and Rose begins to bond and Rose reveals her real name to be Sarah (with an H). The two of them scold Casey for leaving with an unknown boy which leaves Casey feeling amused and happy for the attention she didn't receive from neglecting parents.

David renegotiates with Gurdlinger for a fee of $500,000 on the condition that it arrives that night. When Kenny is finally released from the hospital, David rushes him to the RV in a wheelchair and accidentally tips him over. In the ensuing argument, David inadvertently reveals how much he is getting paid, in comparison to how little he offered to pay each of the others. Casey, Sarah, and Kenny are left in disgust by the revelation, and so David leaves them at the local carnival.

Shortly after leaving, David regrets abandoning them after hearing "Waterfalls" by TLC on the radio and returns to the carnival, begging them to come back with him and offering each a full share of the profits. On their way to the RV, they encounter Edith and Melissa. In the ensuing conversation between the Millers and the Fitzgeralds, Kenny blurts out that they are smuggling the pot. One-Eye appears and is about to shoot everyone, but Don comes out of his camper and subdues him. Chacon then comes around the corner with Melissa held at gunpoint and again is about to kill them all, but is momentarily distracted by the 4th of July fireworks. David and Kenny then subdue him. Melissa and Kenny (with a newfound confidence) kiss, as do David and Sarah. Don arrests Chacon, but lets the Millers leave.

David delivers the drugs to Gurdlinger, who tells him he is late and that their deal is off, but then admits that he had never intended to pay at all. DEA agents crash into the room, arresting Gurdlinger, revealing that David sold him out. Don, the agent in charge, tells David that he will have to be placed in the witness protection program until the trial of Gurdlinger and Chacon. He then adds that anyone who was a witness to the crime will be in protection, which pleases David. The Millers are then seen together in a suburban house with several marijuana plants growing in the garden.

Cast

Production

Development of the movie first began in 2002.[5] By 2006, the film was announced with Steve Buscemi as the pot dealer, with Will Arnett in another role, but no further development was made.[6] In April 2012, various news media broke the news that Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis were in talks to star in the film.[7][8] The film added Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Ed Helms and Kathryn Hahn in July.[9][10]

Production began in Wilmington, North Carolina on July 23, 2012.[9] Filming also took place in New Mexico.[11] It was presented during the 2013 Traverse City Film Festival.[12]

Release

The film was released in theaters on August 7, 2013 in the United States,[13] and on August 23, 2013 in the United Kingdom. It was released on September 18, 2013 in France, and was released on November 8, 2013 in Spain.

Home media

We're the Millers was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 19, 2013 by Warner Home Video.[14][15] The DVD was released as a two-disc special edition, containing two versions of the film: the original theatrical version and the "unrated" extended cut featuring over 8 minutes of new material. Special features included over 45 minutes of featurettes, outtakes and deleted scenes.

Reception

Box office

We're the Millers grossed over seven times its $37 million budget, earning over $150 million in North America and $119 million internationally for a worldwide total of $270 million.[13]

Critical response

We're the Millers received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 47%, based on 148 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "We're the Millers squanders its potential with an uneven, lazily assembled story."[16] Metacritic gave the film a score of 44 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]

According to audience polls conducted by CinemaScore, viewers gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[18]

Accolades

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2013 Key Art Awards Best Trailer - Audio/Visual Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Trailer Park Nominated
2014 40th People's Choice Awards[19] Favorite Movie Actress Jennifer Aniston Nominated
Favorite Comedic Movie Actress Jennifer Aniston Nominated
Favorite On-Screen Chemistry Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis Nominated
Favorite Comedic Movie We're the Millers Nominated
67th British Academy Film Awards BAFTA Rising Star Award Will Poulter Won
19th Empire Awards Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer Will Poulter Nominated
2014 MTV Movie Awards[20][21] Best Female Performance Jennifer Aniston Nominated
Best Breakthrough Performance Will Poulter Won
Sexiest Performance Jennifer Aniston Nominated
Best Kiss Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Jennifer Aniston Won
Best Song from a Movie Will Poulter - Waterfalls Nominated
Best Comedic Performance Jason Sudeikis Nominated
2014 Teen Choice Awards Actress Comedy Emma Roberts Won
Liplock Emma Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Will Poulter Nominated
Hissy Fit Jason Sudeikis Nominated
2015 Casting Society of America Big Budget Comedy Lisa Beach, Sarah Katzman, Lisa Mae Fincannon, Jeremy Gordon, Beth Lipari, Dana Salerno Nominated

Sequel

On February 25, 2014, New Line Cinema announced that a sequel to We're the Millers was in development, with Adam Sztykiel writing the script.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "WE'RE THE MILLERS (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 14, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (August 6, 2013). "Box Office Preview: 'Elysium' Aims for $35 Million-Plus Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=werethemillers.htm
  4. 1 2 Anderton, Ethan (25 February 2014). "New Line Hires 'Due Date' Writer to Script 'We're the Millers' Sequel". firstshowing.net. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Eisenberg, Eric. "Jason Bateman To Play A Middle-Aged Pot Dealer In We're The Millers". Cinemablend. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  6. ↑ White, James (2006-12-05). "New Line High Again On We’re The Millers". Empire. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  7. ↑ Fernandez, Jay; Kit, Borys (April 9, 2012). "Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis in Talks to Star in New Line's 'We're the Millers'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  8. ↑ White, James (2006-12-05). "Aniston Could Say We're The Millers". Empire. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  9. 1 2 Abrams, Rachel (2012-07-13). "Emma Roberts in talks for ‘We’re the Millers’". Variety. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  10. ↑ McNary, Dave (2012-07-12). "Kathryn Hahn joins ‘Millers’ cast". Variety. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  11. ↑ "'We’re the Millers' to film in NM - Albuquerque Business First". Bizjournals.com. 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  12. ↑ "Traverse City Film Festival gets underway Tuesday with early showing of "We're the Millers," starring Jennifer Aniston". The Oakland Press. July 29, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  13. 1 2 "We're the Millers (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  14. ↑ "We're the Millers (DVD)". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  15. ↑ "We're the Millers (Blu-ray)". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  16. ↑ "We're The Millers (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  17. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/movie/were-the-millers
  18. ↑ Subers, Ray (August 11, 2013). "Weekend Report: Audiences Travel to 'Elysium' Over Crowded Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  19. ↑ http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/awards/nominees/
  20. ↑ "2014 MTV Movie Awards: Full Nominations List". MTV. March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  21. ↑ "MTV Movie Awards: Winners List". Variety. April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.

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