ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY DVD (2014)

SYNOPSIS: Disney's heartwarming comedy will have your entire family laughing out loud. Based on the best-selling book, it follows the exploits of Alexander as he experiences the most terrible and horrible day of his young life and wonders if bad things only happen to him. But he discovers he's not alone when his dad (Steve Carrell), mom (Jennifer Garner) and family live through their own terrible -- and hilarious -- day. It will tickle everyone's funny bone and warm their hearts as they discover how even on rotten days, families can grow closer. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

It’s Diary of A Wimpy Kid meets Liar Liar in a movie with one of the longest title in recent cinematic history.

Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) is a normal 11-year old who believes he is blessed with constant bad luck. He woke up with gum stuck in his hair, burnt down a lab and his upcoming birthday party falls on the same day as his more popular classmate. 

His family members on the other hand seem to have all the luck in the world. His father Ben, (Steve Carell) has landed a job interview with a gaming company, mom Kelly (Jennifer Garner) is up for a promotion, older brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) is going to the prom with the hottest girl in school while sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey) is playing the lead in the school’s play. At the stroke of midnight, Alexander made a genuinely harmless wish; one that wishes his family could have a bad day liked him.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is pure classic Disney.   It’s a family comedy tailor made for the entire family. So expect an onslaught of kiddish humour, slapstick comedic antics and the presence of several animal species.

Because it’s a brief 80 minutes movie, you don’t really need to keep staring at your watch wondering when it will end. Director Miguel Areta (Youth In Revolt, Cedar Rapids) knows how to swiftly jump from one gag to gag effortlessly and with Steve Carell in the house, you land yourself the best actor to set himself on fire, get himself kicked by a kangaroo and juggling a noisy infant in one hand for most of the movie.

One of American’s oldest comedians Dick Van Dyke makes an amusing cameo narrating a children’s book that unfortunately misprint the word jump with dump. American Pie’s Jennifer Coolidge makes a fun appearance as a rather bitchy, cunning driving examiner.

Nowadays it’s hard to find a genuinely heartfelt and the same time, affable family comedy. You can’t deny it’s mediocre but considering the original source material by Judith Vlorst is only 32 pages long, it’s sufficient to entertain families with young kids. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Watch how the production designers and animal wranglers turned a movie set into an Australian theme party in Snappy Crocs and Punchy Roos.

There's also a The Vamps music video.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The images look crisp and sharp and the Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds good enough for a kiddy movie. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee