A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Life section of The Oklahoman. 2 1/2 of 4 stars
Aside from the rampaging kangaroo and burning pirate shirt, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" emphasizes relatable humor families can connect to over slapsticky gimmicks and cheap laughs.
It's even smart enough to take the kiddie poop joke - an unfortunate family comedy staple - and make it work on an entirely different level, with a little help from Dick Van Dyke.
Like Judith Viorst's classic 1972 children's book, which gently taught youngsters that bad days are just a part of life, director Miguel Arteta's ("Cedar Rapids") movie exudes an empathetic warmth and goodwill that helps make up for the often tired and telegraphed gags.
While Ray Cruz's black-and-white illustrations highlighted the simplicity of Viorst's story, Rob Lieber's script is much more frenetic, but with good reason: The movie is aimed at busy families with two working - or attempting to work - parents trying to do it all in the fast-paced 21st century. Any mom or dad who has tried to shuttle two kids to separate activities happening at the same time during a frantic day at the office will find a "been there, done that" laugh in the short and sweet — but thankfully not too syrupy — comedy.
On the eve of his 12th birthday, Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) feels like a black sheep in his picture-perfect family, mostly because he's clumsy, awkward and a bit disaster prone, especially when he tries to talk to the girl of his dreams, the smart and lovely Becky Gibson (Sidney Fullmer).
His baby brother Trevor (Elise and Zoey Vargas) is disarmingly adorable, his older sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey) is a confident aspiring actress preparing to play the title role in the school production of "Peter Pan," and his older brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) is a smooth, style-setting heartthrob getting ready to make a splash at the junior prom with his snobby girlfriend Celia (Bella Thorne).
His mom (Jennifer Garner), a marketing executive for a publishing company, is excited about a potential promotion, even if it means putting in more hours with her demanding boss, Nina (Casady High School graduate Megan Mullally). Even his dad (Steve Carell), an aerospace engineer who was laid off seven months ago, has taken on his new role as a stay-at-home parent with gusto, fixing frittatas for breakfast and encouraging the family to approach life with Zen positivity.
After another day of fiascos that seems worse when he learns everyone else had the best day ever, Alexander makes a birthday wish that his family will finally have the kind of bad day that seems to plague him - and he gets his wish.
Naturally, everything unravels on a crazy-busy day: Dad finally gets a promising job interview but has to take the baby along when the sitter cancels, Emily gets sick on the opening day of her play, Anthony wrecks the van during his driving test, and Mom's big celebrity launch goes awry when an unfortunate misprint shows up in a new potty-training book. Only Alexander seems to be having a good day, but he's had so much experience with bad ones, he willingly plays cheerleader to his beleaguered, over-scheduled clan.
Offering a an oversized version of reality, the slight, good-natured film mostly earns knowing chuckles, with a few extra-large comedic moments like the petting-zoo wildlife escaping and Dad's blousy pirate shirt catching fire to make grade-schoolers belly laugh. (For the moms, there's a trio of Australian cowboy strippers who almost take it all off to up the comedy ante.)
Plus, Arteta has the requisite happy ending and family-friendly messaging done and the credits rolling by the 80-minute mark, so Alexander's surprisingly not-so-bad "Very Bad Day" is over before anyone can get bored or annoyed.
–BAM
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