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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014), PG, ★★★

The whole family astonished and horrified by something.
Have you ever had a bad day? Better question, have you ever had the worst day of your life? People tend to over exaggerate "the worst day of their lives" by something or a series of events impacting "a domino effect" on bad luck. Fortune does not favor the brave for some unlucky people. However, individuals can redeem themselves from their misfortunes by substituting a great hobby, event, or gathering to step away from the boundaries of nightmarish memories. I was not looking forward to this movie, but, however, this family feature delighted me despite mostly slapstick and some nasty pitfalls of the day.

Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenbould) is having a very bad day, hence, the title. He takes us back a day earlier when he is invited to Philip Larker's (Lincoln Melcher) birthday party on the next day. But, his problem is that his birthday is on the same day. The series of unfortunate events starts when Alexander has gum stuck on his hair and has to cut it off. His parents, Ben and Kelly (Steve Carrell and Jennifer Garner) are busy, so he has to carpool with his crush, Becky Gibson (Sidney Fullmer) and his family. But, what do you know, luck is not on his side. On his way to the car, he trips over a sprinkler and lands on the grass facedown in front of Becky.

Kelly is on the positive side when she works at a publishing company and her boss, Nina (Megan Mullaly) tells Kelly that she will be promoted Vice President if her potty training children's book takes off in the market. Alexander's older brother, Anthony (Dylan Minnette), meets with his girlfriend, Celia (Bella Thorne), to invite her to the prom and he wants to drive her there since he passed the driver's test. But, she prefers riding in a limo.

Everybody during dinner has good news about their day except Alexander: Kelly has a possible promotion, Ben scored an interview with a video game design company, Emily (Kerris Dorsey) is going to be the lead in Peter Pan. When he makes a birthday sundae at midnight, Alexander wishes that his family will endure a very bad day. And, what do you know it? It comes true. And let the day begin with all sorts of misfortunes in the Cooper household.

Alexander getting gum out of his hair.
I'm going to go on a limb here: I liked the movie and I'm not exactly sure why and it's probably one of the strangest reviews about liking a film. I think that there is a lesson in this film as that the family needs to sympathize with the person struggling in order to make the person feel better. Life is not going to be perfect every single day. We expect to have those kinds of days. Yet, the film's message is strong and a bit poignant in a silly matter.

All of the cast does their best with the material that is adapted from a 1972 children's book by Judith Viorst. But, I liked Ed Oxenbould's performance. He's not obnoxious, but, he's honest and charming simultaneously with his character. We feel bad for him in the beginning because we identify those feelings of misfortune in some days. Even though the slapstick and jokes get out of hand some times and a few jokes don't work, some jokes made me chuckle more than laugh out loud which is passable for a family comedy like this. It is fast and driven for a sincere Disney film. Kids will like this movie and I'll give this movie a pass because I had a little fun watching the family suffering like Alexander did.

***

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