3.5 stars. Rated PG, and needlessly, for mild rude humor
By Derrick Bang
Kid-oriented family films seem an
endangered species these days, because too many Hollywood execs confuse “sweet”
with “stupid.” Most so-called family comedies succumb to the sort of wretched
excess and mindless slapstick that very nearly destroyed the Disney studio,
back in the late 1960s and early ’70s.
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| Alexander (Ed Oxenbould, foreground left) and his family — from left, Anthony (Dylan Minnette), Emily (Kerris Dorsey), Ben (Steve Carell), Kelly (Jennifer Garner) and Baby Trevor — react to the newest calamity during a ghastly day laden with crises. |
It really is true: In Hollywood,
as everywhere else, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
On top of which, the core premise
is flawed: Family films need not rely
on the massive destruction of personal property, or on adults made to look
inane while in the presence of obnoxious and overly precocious brats. Nor is it
necessary to slide into icky sentimentality while delivering a few mellow
truths.
Some filmmakers understand this,
with the recent trilogy drawn from Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid books being a prominent example. They
carefully maneuvered the fine line between genuine humor and dumb farce,
between heartfelt emotion and slushy schmaltz.
Director Miguel Arteta and
scripter Rob Lieber also get the proper mix, with their big-screen adaptation
of Judith Viorst’s popular children’s book, Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Full disclosure dictates,
however, the acknowledgment that this film shares absolutely nothing with
Viorst’s book, aside from its title and core premise. Former kids who remember
having the book read aloud to them, back when it was published in 1972, are apt
to wonder what the heck happened to their favorite story. And the parents doing
the reading are certain to be just as surprised.
Granted, it’s not possible to
make a feature-length film from a 32-page picture book; some expansion was essential.
But you have to wonder why Lieber messed with details such as Alexander’s two older
brothers, who in this film morph into an older brother and sister, along with a
bonus infant brother. Part of the original Alexander’s bad day concerned the
belittling behavior of his jerky older siblings, whereas Arteta and Lieber go
out of their way to emphasize harmony and mutual respect between all members of
the Cooper family.
So, okay; that’s a reasonable
alternate approach, and it better sets up the calamities that erupt in this very bad day.
To elaborate:
This particular Alexander (Ed
Oxenbould, perhaps remembered from the TV series Puberty Blues) endures his personal bad day as something of a
prologue, on the day before his 12th birthday. It begins when he wakes up with
chewing gum in his hair, and climaxes with a catastrophe in the school science
lab, thanks to his efforts to flirt with the girl of his dreams (Sidney
Fullmer, appropriately adorable as Becky).
