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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Facebook)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Facebook)
What's it about:

The exploits of 11-year-old Alexander as he experiences the most terrible and horrible day of his young life - a day that begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by one calamity after another. But, when Alexander tells his upbeat family about his disastrous day, he finds little sympathy and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him. He soon learns that he is not alone when his brother, sister, mom, and dad all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

Anyone who says there is no such thing as a bad day just hasn’t had one.

What we thought:

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, whew that’s a mouthful right!?

Do you remember when you were 11 when the only real worries you had were: who would attend your birthday party, your rival at school, who’s more popular than you and getting to know that pretty girl or really cool boy in your class better.

Trivial as it may seem these are important things for an 11 year old and this is what Alexander has to deal with on the eve of his 12th birthday.  And to top it all off he has had a very bad day; he wakes up with bubblegum in his hair, the school prankster plays a nasty joke on him and he almost burnt down the science lab.

While Alexander has had a disastrous day the rest of his family aren’t fairing too bad.

His unemployed dad Ben (Steve Carroll) has a job interview, his mom Kelly (Jennifer Garner) might just get the vice president position at her company, his older brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) is excited for prom and passing his driver’s test and his sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey) will play the lead role in Peter Pan at her school concert. Everyone seems to be ‘hashtag blessed’ besides Alexander that is.

If you’re a younger sibling you’ll know exactly how this will go down: everyone will give you a pep talk about how it was just a bad day, be positive, tomorrow will be better etc.

Meanwhile at the back of your head you’re wishing that the rest of your family would have the worst day possible so that they could understand how you felt.

And this is exactly what Alexander does as he blows out his birthday candle he wishes his family a bad day. He just wants the rest of his family to understand what it feels like to have a horrible, terrible, very bad, day.  Besides wishes don’t really come true, right?!

Well in the movies they do and each member in Alexander’s family ends up having a horrible, terrible, very bad day from one calamity to the next that just snowballs. And every situation that the family encounters will have you laughing out loud.

As unbelievable as they may seem we all can relate to them. How one little mess up; like waking up late can be the beginnings of a very bad day.

And in true Disney fashion there’s a lesson to be learnt here. When the laughter dies down they hit you straight in the heart. That anything can be endured when you have a loving supporting family as your foundation.  

This is a great family movie, it will keep both the kids and the adults entertained. It maintains a perfect balance between comedy and the sappy stuff. And a plus, it’s not long to sit through.

If you’re having a horrible, terrible, very bad day this is the movie to cheer you up.

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