Alexander and the terrible day review

Alexander Movie Poster

Disclosure: This event and trip to LA was an all expense paid journey sponsored by Disney. All thoughts and experiences are 100% my own!

A must see family film: In theaters TODAY!

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a press screening of Disney’s ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. After the screening, we had the amazing opportunity to interview many of the cast members, including Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner and the kids that play their children in the film: Dylan Minnette, Ed Oxenbould & Kerris Dorsey. These interviews were some of the funnest that I have ever done, and the relationships that I witnessed between these cast members only further explained how they pulled off their roles in this film so perfectly.

I went into this film a bit skeptical. I mean, how do you take one of the most popular children’s books of all times (that has fewer than 30 pages, no less) and turn it into a full length movie? I wasn’t quite sure just how they would pull this off, but I have to tell you, they exceeded my expectations.

Screen Shot 2014-10-06 at 9.03.41 AM

They storyline of this film uses the storyline of the book ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY to set up the first part of the film. The rest of the movie takes you along with Alexander and his family on an entirely new and hilarious journey. I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t be able to relate to this film, as we all have bad days. In fact, I think that is what I love MOST about this film is that everyone can relate. You feel their pain, and admire their bravery, as this family just keeps taking everything that life is throwing to them without ever throwing in the towel.

I can’t stand spoilers, so I won’t include any. I will let you enjoy this movie experience yourself, but go into it knowing that this movie is great for the entire family and includes some wonderful messages about everyday things that we all take for granted.

The partnership that Alexander’s parents share is inspiring (possibly a tiny bit exaggerated) but definitely inspiring. I love the relationships that the siblings in the film share, and the humor that they use to just keep pushing on through this day as a family. There are little things that each of the characters in this film do to show their strong love and loyalty towards each other, and I think that you will be moved by the journey that they each take to come to the realization that, to quote Alexander himself, “You just gotta have the bad days so that you can just love the good days even more.”

If you haven’t yet seen any trailers, here is my favorite one, it gives you a glimpse of just how much fun this movie is:

I think that the overall message of this film is so simple and yet, very thought provoking. While their bad day was exaggerated (and hilarious) I could related to the feelings that the characters and at some points, could even feel their pain. The simplicity of this film was refreshing to me as it is a very simple story line, that takes you through a very short period of time in these characters lives. It truly is a good solid family film, and it might even provoke some conversations about just how important family is, especially on those bad days.