Review: ‘Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ From The Editor

Rated: G | 82 minutes

Going to a live-action family film usually entails plenty of eye rolling, low expectations and overpriced concessions. Parents chalk it up to yet another selfless thing they do for their children in lieu of enjoying Oscar-bound prestige films, dark, twisty thrillers or raunchy comedies.

So imagine the novelty of a family-friendly movie that manages to make parents and older siblings laugh while still firmly appealing to the elementary-school crowd.

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” is the latest adaptation of Washington area author Judith Viorst’s classic 1972 picture book, which was previously turned into an animated television special for HBO (1990) and a children’s musical that premiered at the Kennedy Center more than a decade ago. In this film version, director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Rob Lieber keep the premise but expand the central theme with a dash of magical realism.

The worst day begins with everyone waking up late, but if they’d known what was coming, they’d have done well to call in sick and stay in bed all day. Alexander is the recipient of the only good news: The popular kid has chicken pox, so Alexander’s bash is back on full steam. Otherwise, Murphy’s Law lays siege to the family: Emily becomes ill as well, endangering her performance; the car battery dies on the day of Anthony’s driving test, a calamity that also forces Kelly to bike to her event (featuring an unbilled Dick Van Dyke) that’s beset by a PG-lewd book misprint, and the lack of a babysitter forces Ben to take baby Trevor along to meet his potential new bosses, who are half his age.

The arguable comic highlight is Anthony’s driving test, which is presided over by a farcically overbearing woman (Jennifer Coolidge) who plays a trick on him that, if used by DMV officials in real life, might take half of California’s drivers off the road. Kelly’s mishaps with her author’s event simply seem too preposterous to be funny, while the Peter Pan misadventures are similarly low-voltage.

On the other hand, the interplay between Ben and the gamer geeks is not unamusing, even if Ben’s tolerance for agreeably filling the role of a “fommy” (father-mommy) would seem to exceed ordinary limits. The homily-laden wrap-up, stressing the upside of bad days, is enough to make you hold your nose, but it only lasts a moment, which is suggestive of the way Arteta and the cast provide the energy and momentum to get the job done but not overstay their welcome; piling any more cards on this house would have made it collapse altogether.

The cast is uniformly game and the filmmakers have thoughtfully included something at the end for all the moms who will drag the small fry to see this — a bunch of hunky Aussie cowboy strippers who begin performing before they realize they’re at a kid’s birthday party.

Production companies: 21 Laps, Jim Henson Company
Cast: Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Ed Oxenbould, Dylan Minnette, Kerris Dorsey, Jennifer Coolidge, Megan Mullally, Bella Thorne, Mary Mouser, Sidney Fullmer, Ben Greene, Elise Vargas, Zoey Vargas
Director: Miguel Arteta
Screenwriter: Rob Lieber, based on the book by Judith Viorst
Producers: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Lisa Henson
Executive producers: Philip Steuer, Jason Lust
Director of photography: Terry Stacey
Production designer: Michael Corenblith
Costume designer: Nancy Steiner
Editor: Pamela Martin
Music: Christophe Beck