Taglines: For Alexander, life couldn’t get worse. For his family, life couldn’t be better.
Disney’s “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” follows 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 the misadventures of his disastrous day, he finds little sympathy and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him. He soon learns that he’s not alone when his brother, sister, mom and dad all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Anyone who says there is no such thing as a bad day just hasn’t had one.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a 2014 American comedy film directed by Miguel Arteta from a screenplay written by Rob Lieber. The film stars Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, and Ed Oxenbould, and is based on Judith Viorst’s 1972 children’s book of the same name. Co-produced by 21 Laps Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company, the film was released by Walt Disney Pictures on October 10, 2014.
About the Story
The film follows the exploits of Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenbould), an ordinary 11-year old boy, and his “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” Alexander is left out by his family; his older brother, Anthony (Dylan Minnette), his sister, Emily (Kerris Dorsey), his mother, Kelly (Jennifer Garner), his dad, Ben (Steve Carell), and their infant baby son, Trevor (Elise/Zoey Vargas).
The day before Alexander’s twelfth birthday, he wakes up and finds gum in his hair, clipping it off with a pair of scissors. Anthony is trying to earn his driver’s license so he can drive his girlfriend Celia (Bella Thorne) to prom, Emily is rehearsing for the title role in her school play of Peter Pan, Kelly is working for a publication company that is publishing a new children’s book, and Ben, who has been unemployed for several months, has landed a job interview as a game designer for a video game company.
That same morning, Alexander attends school where he experiences another series of misfortunes, as well as finding out that his friends, including his crush Becky Gibson (Sidney Fullmer), and friend Paul (Mekai Curtis), will all be attending Philip Parker’s birthday party instead of his, due to Philip’s expensive party entertainment and popularity.
Alexander tries to tell his family how miserably his day has gone, but none of them even listen to what he says. That evening, Anthony upsets Celia during a phone call while yelling at Alexander saying he is an “idiot brother”, and Emily rehearses her stage lines in Kelly’s Volvo while leaving the car’s light on. Alexander serves himself a makeshift birthday sundae and wishes his family could experience the disappointments he does everyday.
The next morning, Alexander wakes up to find his family in disarray; his parents have overslept, Emily is sick with a cold, and Anthony has found out that Celia has broken up with him. The battery in Kelly’s car is dead, because Emily left the light on all evening while rehearsing, therefore Ben has to take baby Trevor with him to the interview, after dropping Kelly off at work.
At school, Alexander is told that Philip Parker has cancelled his birthday party due to illness, and calls his father, asking him to plan a party for him. Kelly is informed of an embarrassing misprint in the book they are publicizing, and needs to stop Dick Van Dyke from reading the book at public reading later. Ben takes baby Trevor along to the office interview and meets Greg (Donald Glover) who seems impressed at his credentials, although the meeting is cut short after Trevor ingests a highlighter.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Directed by: Miguel Arteta
Starring: Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Ed Oxenbould, Dylan Minnette, Kerris Dorsey, Sidney Fullmer, Bella Thorne
Screenplay by: Rob Lieber
Production Design by: Michael Corenblith
Cinematography by: Terry Stacey
Film Editing by: Pamela Martin
Costume Design by: Nancy Steiner
Set Decoration by: Susan Benjamin
Music by: Christophe Beck
MPAA Rating: PG for rude humor including some reckless behavior and language.
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: October 10, 2014
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