WE'RE THE MILLERS (2013) Movie Review
In the film, We’re the Millers , we meet four desperate people: David, who is wiped clean in a brutal robbery, Rose, who is wiped clean by her shady ex-boyfriend, Kenny, an innocent boy with a neglectful mother, and Casey, an angry teenage runaway.
Each one with a tragic story. Each one feeling lost and alone. Each one unaware of how much they long for a true family.
When David’s Drug Lord of a boss presents a supposed “opportunity of a lifetime”, they all feel as if they have no other choice than to accept it. However, the risk becomes increasingly greater than the promised reward. The more time they spend together, the more like a real family they feel.
Until a slight oversight made by David sticks them in a situation where they require assistance. Cue the Fitzgeralds, a devout Christian family with an unnatural regard for following the law. They are not only a nightmare for “the Millers, but they are also a threat the entire operation. Their “opportunity of a lifetime”. At the same time, they are a kind family who offers the Miller help with ZERO expectations for anything in return.
The Fitzgeralds are kind, open, giving, and trusting people. They are the embodiment of true Christ followers. Their love instills a change in this makeshift family where they finally experience what they are all missing and unknowingly long for. Not only do the Millers learn to embrace, but they begin to express it among each other. One night with the Fitzgeralds gives the Millers a lasting impression.
For love is contagious.
Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”
The things we do, the mood we share, make a lasting impression on those around us. As the Fitzgeralds’ cheerful ministry is indeed medicine to these broken spirits. It is a message powerful enough to pull the Millers away from their path of destruction and accept a true chance at redemption. A chance to do the right thing instead of relying a false message that lies in this “opportunity”. Above all, a chance to legitimize their family.
We’re the Millers is a beautiful story hidden under a shell of vulgarity. Some might find that disturbing, but not me. Such is the world. Vulgarity is everywhere. People swear. People steal. People break the law. People neglect and abuse their children. Look through it to the message beneath.
The real question remains. What can the church do the break into this vulgar world and make it better? Where are all the Fitzgeralds? Where is the ministry we’ve all been called to do?
