More than a decade after Disney adapted Judith Viorst‘s beloved children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, into a film starring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner as the parents of the title character, the studio reunited with Sean Levy‘s 21 Laps Entertainment for a reimagined take on the tale. Written by Matt Lopez and directed by Marvin Lemus, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip pays homage to both the book and the 2014 film through a very different lens. Stuffed with all the elements of a classic road movie, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip proves to be a tightly spun story that, thanks to its easily digestible runtime, plays as a tolerable, not-so-bad watch that fits the bill for a family looking for something appropriate to watch for all ages.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip follows 11-year-old Alexander and his family as they embark on a dream Spring Break vacation to Mexico City only to have all their plans go terribly wrong when they discover a cursed idol. The family is put to the test until they resolve to return the idol to its rightful home.
-Official synopsis for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip
In looking to avoid a direct remake of 2014’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, the producers sought a “universal family experience” that would allow for a story full of challenges and experiences that would bring the family at the center of the new film closer together. And thus the road trip came to be. Road movies remain a staple of the American film industry and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip riffs on some of the classics. Full of the ridiculous mishaps that befall all families who dare pack up for a family vacation, the film channels National Lampoons Vacation, RV, Planes,Trains and Automobiles and, for just a minute, maybe even Thelma and Louise. Cars crash, folks get left behind and the family even loses their IDs and has to rely on a “scary” stranger they just met for some kindness. By the time it’s all over, however, everyone is exactly where they are meant to be and despite the chaos, the Garcia family comes out of it all in a better place than when it started.
If anything is holding the film back, it’s that the cast isn’t exceptionally strong. In an ironic twist, perhaps the best addition to the cast was Cheech Marin, who replaced George Lopez. Lopez had long been attached to the film as the Garcia family’s tough-talking, motorcycle-riding abuelo and would have certainly had fun in the role; however, Marin’s trademark high-energy delivery add a spark to an adult cast that sometimes sorely needs it. Landman‘s Paulina Chávez more than holds her own as Mia, the big sister to Thom Nemer‘s title character, whose belief in bad luck and a family curse seems to hold more water as the film moves on.
Alexander Garcia (Thom Nemer) has always believed he has the worst luck in the world, so when
-Official boilerplate for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip
his mom Val (Eva Longoria) devises a plan to bring her seemingly disconnected family on a fancy
vacation to Mexico City aboard a luxury RV as part of her travel writing job, he is sure it will end
in disaster. Despite his fears, the family including dad Frank (Jesse Garcia), teen sister Mia
(Paulina Chávez), Grandma Lidia (Rose Portillo), and Grandpa Gil (Cheech Marin) – set out, only
to find absolutely everything is going chaotically, hilariously wrong. When the family discovers an
ancient, cursed idol may be to blame, they must work together to return it to where it belongs.
Presented as a fairly typical modern family, the Garcias begin the film seemingly without a real sense of who the other members of their family are. As road movies tend to do, the time together helps them understand themselves, each other and, in this case, their heritage. And, as Alexander comes to understand, bad luck is just good luck in disguise and not every day is so terrible, horrible or very bad after all.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip is now streaming on Disney Plus.
