Bumblebee
Mary Poppins Returns
Halloween
Outlander
Log in with Facebook
OR
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango.
Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password.
Critics Consensus: Affably pleasant without ever trying to be anything more, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a fine -- albeit forgettable -- family diversion.
Critic Consensus: Affably pleasant without ever trying to be anything more, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a fine -- albeit forgettable -- family diversion.
All Critics (112) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (44) | DVD (1)
Like the source material, this is one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day that families just might find themselves revisiting often.
It's funny, fast, and charming.
Arteta keeps the action speeding along while eliciting spot-on performances. Carell is at his discombobulated best, and Garner anchors the proceedings with aplomb.
There are a couple of scenes that fall flat, losing the manic push of the rest of the story, but the mood is so screwball that the film hurtles past its own mistakes. It's good fun.
This is where the comedy comes from: that lurking fear that even the most routine of daily domestic tasks is just a spilled coffee cup away from disaster.
"Alexander" won't change your day, but it's not terrible, horrible, no good or very bad, either.
It's very hard not to like this film. It's energetic, filled with silly, genuine fun, and has humorous beats that will make you smile and possibly laugh out loud.
Aside from the rampaging kangaroo and burning pirate shirt, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" emphasizes relatable humor families can connect to over slapsticky gimmicks and cheap laughs.
The frustrating thing about Alexander is not that it is a bad film. It's that what we get suggests that director Miguel Arteta could have given us so much more.
It's the rare, current kid movie made with real actors. Unfortunately, it's not remotely adult-funny. That's OK. Parents suffer. It's what they do. Go and suffer for the kids.
And while the problems had are sadly very white and upper class ones, the message is still relevant. It's also rather funny-at times.
The film may be a good way to distract kids for an hour and 20 minutes, but are any of its messages appropriate?
A cutesy, hard to hate comedy.
Super Reviewer
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a pleasant comedy that earns its laughs from slapdash shenanigans. This is comedy at its most basic form. I'm surprised no one actually slipped on a banana peel or threw a pie in someone's face. Bad things happening to people has been the basis for many comedies: The Out of Towners, Home Alone, etc. The cast gamely registers discomfort in awkward situations with amusing results. Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner embellish this production with star power as the parents. Even Dick Van Dyke shows up in a funny bit playing himself. Let's be realistic. The repetitive screenplay would be more at home as a made for TV movie on the Disney channel than as a cinematic event. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. I mean High School Musical captivated millions. I had pretty low expectations given the source book and they were exceeded. This is a decent picture that entertains just enough to make it passable time filler. It's fast paced and breezes by in a scant 80 minutes. If you've got little ones to entertain, this should fit the bill. fastfilmreviews.com
Alexander Cooper: You gotta have the bad days so you can love the good days even more. Steve Carell is a versatile actor. He has a certain charisma that he brings to the table; he's hypnotizing in his ability to entertain. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a pleasing, schmaltzy, sentimental family farce that delivers on its premise thanks to Carell's absolute charm. It doesn't try to be anything more than a straightforward comedy that features good morals and upstanding family values. Clocking in at a brisk 80 minutes, this is a harmless little film with fun to be had. Read the whole review at creedsdelight.com
Emily Cooper: This day is so cursed. Initially, I think I was more interested in how I would be writing the title of this film for the review, rather than what I was hoping to get out of actually seeing it. I have settled on 'Alexander' or 'ATHNGVBD,' but really, I am happy to write about this actual film as well, because it is harmless fun. Adapting a feature length film from a 32-page children's novel can only lead to so much success, depending on who is involved, but Rob Lieber's script manages to extend the novel's idea into a fun family comedy that does not celebrate the misfortune of Alexander and his family, but instead embraces the optimism required to hold a family together, despite the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things that happen to them. As a result, the film works both as a broad comedy and as a family comedy with good things to take away from it. read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.
View All