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

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 from 2004, where she makes a wish and it comes true? This movie is just like that—complete with a wish—but this time, Garner is 10 years older, and it’s her child in the movie who makes the wish and turns his life… well, not upside down like in 13 Going on 30, but in his family’s favor.

Walt Disney didn’t bother to change their family movie formula. Things start off okay, then they don’t look okay, then everything goes berserk, then it’s okay again, and they all live happily ever after. The end.

That said, this was a nice movie with enough captivating moments to keep you glued—if you don’t mind the predictability. The warm, feel-good ending is what made me like the movie, not the series of embarrassing events that didn’t quite live up to the dramatic title.

Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) is about to turn 12, and his day is going from bad to worse. His birthday plans are ruined by a classmate who decided to have their party on the same day. Then, his teacher forces him to look after a guinea pig, and to top it all off, he burns the book of the girl he has a crush on.

Meanwhile, at home, everyone else seems to be having the best day ever. His mother (Jennifer Garner) is in line for a promotion, his unemployed dad (Steve Carell) just got a job offer, his sister (Kerris Dorsey) landed the part she wanted in a play, and his brother (Dylan Minnette) is going to prom with the most popular girl in school.

Feeling sad and alone, Alexander wishes that everyone in his family would experience a “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” so they’d understand how he feels. And, as mentioned earlier, the wish comes true.

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 written by Rob Lieber, and the movie was directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl (2002)).

In the end, I thought the actors were good enough to keep you wanting more. Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner were strong enough as adult actors to carry the movie, leaving little for the kids to do—but they did it well enough for me.

Since the movie was a financial success, we might see more adaptations of Judith Viorst’s books. I haven’t read any (not even this one), but you know Disney—they’re relentless when it comes to making sequels out of successful films.