"If only they knew how I felt"
Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) is turning 12. He's a nice, well-meaning kid. But, there's just some problems with that. He happens to have terrible days every single day. Everything seems to turn into a clumsy, trouble-making mess. Meanwhile, his family seems to have perfect days every day. His older brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) is taking his girlfriend to prom. His older sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey) is making her stage debut in a school production of Peter Pan. And his parents (Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner) are on the verge of big breaks in their jobs. Never mind baby brother Trevor. One day just when he's finally had it, he makes an early birthday wish that his family would understand how he is every day, that they don't have a good day. The next morning, the baby urinates all over the house and everyone sleeps in. It only goes downhill from there. What has Alexander done?
The overall feel of this movie and the acting is terrific. Carell, Garner and the kids all have such great chemistry. In fact, it was so convincing, that there were times I thought of a few "bigger" families I know in place of these actors while watching it. Garner and Carell both work incredibly well as parents, and Minnette and Dorsey are both super-dramatic and fun as Emily and Anthony. Oxenbould does good work too as the lead.
I really enjoyed seeing the messages of family and embracing the bad days. The whole movie ends on a universally positive note, reaffirming the importance of family and to be there for those who need you on their "bad" days. The cameo by Dick Van Dyke was good. The music score by Christophe Beck works well. The screenplay is written fairly well, with a solid amount of time spent on each character and developing them well (even if it is just for two days).
On the downside, sometimes the film can be too rambunctious and silly. And quite a handful of moments are more eye-rolling than really worth laughing at. A few minor adult gags that the movie could have done better without.
Going into seeing Alexander, I wasn't having the best day ever. So I guess this movie came at good timing. But, I'm not going to reflect on my own personal life here. Alexander is a family movie that does work, in some ways better than I expected.
With the trailer, I was kinda concerned this would be more of a Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie in terms of humor and mindlessness. But director Miguel Arteta wisely moves the film in a more optimistic, things-will-get-better attitude, without ever getting too focused on gross-out humor. Yes, the film has its share of eye-rolling jokes and Spongebob-like nonsense, but its thankfully less than Wimpy Kid and Open Season.
I'm going to reinforce this, but, while I don't live in a very big family (I only have 1 sibling), this movie reminded me of some of my closer friends and their families of multiple siblings. Being a young adult, I actually thought more of anyone that reminded me of Anthony or Alexander. And I guess its the relate-ability here that makes this movie very fun at times to watch.
That being said, it isn't a perfect film. In fact, its far from it. But, for families looking for a fun time at the movies (or at home), Alexander does mostly deliver.
Score: 7.7/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of
Language: Smashing her foot against something, Alexander's mom blurts out "Mother!!!". People interject "oh my g--!" a few times. Alexander says, "I've had a crap day".
Adult Content: Some minor innuendo. Mom dashes into the bathroom running into Anthony naked (we see him waist up, she obviously sees much more than that). Anthony gently confronts her for it, but she needlessly goes off on a tangent saying "Its not the first time I've seen your pen**, Anthony! I've seen every pen** in this car!". Alexander rudely points out Anthony for wanting to "make out with Celia in the back of the van after prom". Someone snapshots Anthony's face on a bikinied model and other photos, to a friend's response of "that's gross and sexist". Someone else responds with "nice b--bs, Alexander". Anthony says his girlfriend has a "cute little butt". At the end of the movie, it's implied the parents accidentally hired strippers for a birthday party (Mom and Dad realize this in time, however, and ask for "PG" before the performers do anything).
Violence: Some rambunctious behavior and slapstick-y situations. Anthony crashes the car. When trying to get out, the van door is smashed off by another careless driver. Alexander sets something on fire.
Alcohol/Drugs: Emily takes too much cough medicine and becomes too loopy during her show.
Other: The siblings can be very mean and rude to one another. For instance, at the end of an embarrassing performance by his sister at a play, Anthony applauds and laughs. A misprint in a book has it read "Take a dump!". A few other bathroom jokes include a baby peeing all over the kitchen and quite a bit of talk on toilet training. Anthony is dating a selfish, mean-spirited girl.
