Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)
Duration: 82 minutes
Certified: PG
Directed by: Miguel Arteta
Starring: Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Ed Oxenbould, Dylan Minnette, Kerris Dorsey, Bella Thorne, Elise & Zoey Vargas, Sidney Fullmer, Megan Mullally, Dick Van Dyke
KRS Releasing Ltd
For Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenould), life has been a bit unfair. Everyone in his family seems to be having a whale of a time while he tries to impress a girl and instead ends up burning not only her notebook but also the school laboratory.
He has his birthday party to which none will go since his birthday falls on the same day as that of the school’s most popular boy. Nothing seems to work.
This film has an impeccable sense of comic timing
His mother Kelly (Jennifer Garner) works at a publishing company and is about to get a huge promotion while his father Ben (Steve Carrell) has an interview with a video game developer company.
His older sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey) has become the star of the school’s play while brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) is about to get his own driving licence and takes the prettiest girl in school to the prom.
Meanwhile, Trevor (Elise and Zoey Vargas) is a cute and cuddly baby who gets all the attention.
Alexander makes a wish: that everyone else can have the same kind of day he is having. Magically, the next morning things start to go horribly wrong.
This adaptation of Judith Viorst’s classic 1972 children book of the same name is a minor cinematic treasure. This film packs a flurry of punches, moves swiftly from one scene to another and has an impeccable sense of comic timing.
In an age where movies seem to be either franchises or animated features, this is a breath of fresh air. It has all the necessary ingredients to please everyone in the audience as it is very difficult not to get caught in the infectious energy of the film’s cast.
Director Miguel Arteta and scriptwriter Rob Lieber find ways and means to make us laugh. The film’s young audience will find plenty to understand and also associate themselves with as they will appreciate Alexander’s tenacity and his desire to stand out in what is a cluttered survival zone that childhood has become.
The movie takes all the run-of-the-mill formulas and puts a twist to them as they go through one hellish experience after another. Carrell and Garner are top notch and show an affinity towards each other.
Unlike other films, this one may look simple but it is done with such craft and enthusiasm that it’s very easy to not notice how well crafted this picture is.