ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY (2014)

Genre: Family/Comedy
Director: Miguel Arteta
Cast: Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Dylan Minnette, Ed Oxenbould, Kerris Dorsey, Megan Mullally, Jennifer Coolidge, Bella Thorne
RunTime: 1 hr 21 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 4 December 2014

Synopsis: Disney’s “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” follows the exploits of 11-year-old Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) as he experiences the most terrible and horrible day of his young life—a day that begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by one calamity after another. But when Alexander tells his upbeat family about the misadventures of his disastrous day, he finds little sympathy and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him. He soon learns that he’s not alone when his mom (Jennifer Garner), dad (Steve Carell), brother (Dylan Minnette) and sister (Kerris Dorsey) all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Anyone who says there is no such thing as a bad day just hasn't had one.

Movie Review:

Ever felt that there was a day was so bad, it seemed like nothing could be worse? The day before Alexander Cooper’s (Ed Oxenbould) 12th birthday would be hard to beat. After being rudely woken up, he finds out that the school’s most popular boy is holding a birthday party on his birthday, sets his crush’s science notes on fire, and gets gum in his hair, just to list a couple of unfortunate events. It probably did not help that his family was having a wonderful time amidst his woes, while Alexander stuck out as a sore thumb, as usual. To feel better, Alexander made a birthday wish that everyone else could understand how bad his day was – and no prizes for guessing what happened the next day.

Despite having a name like that, Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day does not disappoint in terms of the number and magnitude of unfortunate events, taking the Murphy’s Law to the extreme. Surprisingly enough, the script displayed restraint, with few of the events being made unbelievable and exaggerated, a common pitfall for movies trying to elicit a few laughs.

Introverted children would identify with the precocious Alexander, the middle child who finds himself unable to match the extroversion of his elder siblings Anthony and Emily (Dylan Minnette and Kerris Dorsey respectively), while his parents Ben’s and Kelly’s (Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner) attentions are now dedicated to their work and newborn child. Oxenbould’s performance as the titular character does tug at your heartstrings, if nothing else. However, in comparison, Anthony is a much funnier character, being able to get the audience rooting for him, even when he was an over-confident narcissist. Perhaps it was his stereotypical cheerleader, social butterfly girlfriend.

Jokes aside, the movie is heart-warming when it should be, with the family being a central theme. No matter how career-focused Ben and Kelly appear to be, they are only trying to better provide for their family. The family also makes it a point to support each other during school events and personal milestones, good and bad. A family that endures bad days together, stays together indeed.

The movie also does a nice job of showing how unimportant the problems faced while growing up are, as everything will come to pass. In the end, it was the adults’ problems had to be resolved by some kind of deus ex machina, with them miraculously getting what they wanted for their career. Thankfully, despite the cliché ending, it was mercifully short and the family gets to live happily ever after.

Movie Rating:

(As expected of Disney, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a feel-good movie targeted at the young, and surprisingly entertaining for their accompanying parents)

Review by Goh Yan Hui