There weren't so many LOLs as there were SALTS—you know, Smiled a Little Then Stopped—when it came to the upcoming crude comedy We're the Millers.
What seemed like comedic gold fell short with critics, who reviewed the Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston flick before it's release this weekend.
Written by Bob Fisher and Steve Faber (The Wedding Crashers) and Sean Anders and John Morris (Hot Tub Time Machine), the Rawson Marshall Thurber-helmed film tells the story of a fake (and raunchy) family of four that travel to Mexico to smuggle some drugs.
Here's what some critics had to say about We're the Millers...
•Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter said, "An inane little time-killer with enough low laughs to placate undemanding audiences, this Warner Bros. release could rake in some decent quick returns and good ancillary results if at least part of the public that made The Heat such a hit becomes convinced that this is just the R-rated romp it needs to bookend the summer with another shot of crude comedy."
•"We're the Millers, a loose, halfheartedly raunchy, occasionally hilarious new comedy, is about a lot of different things; it's the usual grab bag of jokes about drugs and body parts. But what really drives the movie is its own search for something to make fun of, and for a comic style that can feel credibly naughty while remaining ultimately safe and affirmative," A.O. Scott from The New York Times stated.
•"But the movie too often goes for icky sexual humor," Rafer Guzman of Newsday wrote. "David sacrifices Kenny to a predatory gay cop, Casey kisses her 'brother' and Rose is frequently slurred as 'cheap' and 'dirty.' Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn play a seemingly straight couple with various kinks. We would still care despite all the raunch if We're the Millers weren't so thinly written."
•"It's true that director Rawson Marshall Thurber's high point thus far, 2004's Dodgeball, is something of a hybrid of the styles. But We're the Millers is full of moments that feel as forced as the marriage of convenience—and contrivance—in the movie," The Los Angeles Times' Betsy Sharkey said. "That doesn't mean Millers is not occasionally funny—it is. Or that the performances are awful—they aren't. The idea of a road trip in an RV loaded with high-octane pot and a pretend family certainly has some R-rated comic promise."
•Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "The other finds [Will] Poulter's virginal teen (the freshest element in the film) receiving make-out lessons from both his fake mother, Aniston, and his fake sister, Roberts. Watching this bit you think: Huh? Wha? Icky? Hot? Skeezy? Not? You're doing everything but laughing. Too often, the same goes for We're the Millers."
•Deadspin's Todd Grierson said, "We're the Millers wants to have it both ways as well. Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball), this R-rated comedy flaunts its swearing and inappropriate behavior, but also has a sweet core and some genuine heart. Some of the inappropriate stuff is great, and some of the sweetness is great, but there's not enough of either. We're the Millers has funny ideas, but it's not consistently inspired, and it goes on too long. There's a pretty great 85 minutes stuck in these 110."