Review of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014) by Kyle H — 23 Sep 2015

Alexander's exceedingly bad day is predicated on fun, goofy moments and is wonderfully optimistic. These moments are created, however, by manipulating the structure of a film that is presented as existing in the realm of the "real" by conveniently aligning the events through a series of deus ex machina. Even so, there is some element of magic present in the story that may help basically explain overly convenient plot points. There are a lot of things in the movie that are presented very basically. The movie has delusions about its own importance and makes no grand claim to greatness by trying to be the most impressive thing ever produced - the upside of this is that such humility and attention to playfulness is kind of refreshing and made BAD DAY a little more exceptional than it otherwise may have been perceived; the downside of this is that there is nothing technically dazzling or interesting about the film. Within the narration, though, interpreters such as Garner and Carell manage to make an intentionally bland script read in a way that is humorous because of its blandness (very much within Carell's comedy wheelhouse). The protagonist (played by newcomer Ed Oxenbould) is not especially skilled at finding specific justifications for line interpretation, but he succeeds at capturing the appropriate tone for his scenes.

Ultimately, the movie - although "basic" - becomes something fun and enjoyable because of its humility and is able to be goofy and fun... which is nice.