Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)

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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)

6/10

Starring

Ed Oxenbould

Steve Carell

Jennifer Garner

Kerris Dorsey

Dylan Minnette

Directed by Miguel Arteta

Let’s start this review with a question, “Have you seen 13 going on 30?”

That Jennifer Garner movie done in 2004, where she made a wish and it came true. This movie is just like that with a wish and everything, but this time Garner is 10 years older and it is her child in the movie that makes the wish and turns his life… well not upside down as in 13 going on 30, but on his own family to his favor.

Walt Disney didn’t bother to make any form of change in their family movie style, as things started off ok, then they didn’t look ok, then they went berserk, then ok and they all lived happily ever after, the end.

Regardless though this was a nice movie, with captivating events enough to keep you glued, if you do not mind the fact that they are predictable. The nice warm ending is what will made me like the movie and not the series of embarrassing events that were not enough to qualify the quantity of adjectival onslaught the movie title had.

Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) is going on 12 and his day was turning from bad to worse, as his birthday plan was being marred by a classmate who has chosen to have his birthday on the same day as his. Then his teacher forced him to look after a guinea pig and to crown it off, he burnt the book of the girl he has a crush on.

But in his home it seems everybody is having the best day ever, his mother (Jennifer Garner) is in line for a promotion, his out of job dad (Steve Carell) just got an offer, his sister (Kerris Dorsey) has gotten a part in the play she wanted and his brother (Dylan Minnette) is going to prom with the most popular girl in school.

Sad and alone, he wished everyone in his family will experience a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day so they will understand how he feels. As said above the wish came through.

The movie’s mouthful of a title “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” is based on a book of the same name published in 1972 and written by Judith Viorst. The screenplay was done by Rob Lieber and directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl (2002)).

In the end I felt the actors were good enough to keep you wanting more. Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner were good enough adult actors to give the children little to nothing to do as they carried the movie well enough for me.

Being a financial success, we could be seeing more adaptations of Judith Viorst books, not read any (not even this one), but you know Disney they are relentless when it comes to making sequels of a success.