You’ll be delighted to know that the movie with the very long name doesn’t overstay its welcome - it in fact comes in at a tidy eighty-one minutes - and if one is looking to bring one’s family to a light-hearted and fun comedy for the afternoon Alexander... is custom designed for one’s needs. And Dick van Dyke is in it. It’s ticking a lot of boxes here.
Alexander (Oxenbould) has it tough: as he muddles through most days, bouncing from one disaster to the next, his family seem to have it made. Mum Garner is impressing at her publishing house and is all set for promotion; dad Carell might be unemployed but he’s enjoying spending time with Alexander’s baby brother and he’s got an interview with a game design company coming up; older brother (Dylan Minnette) is popular and is taking the school babe (Bella Thorne) to the prom; and sis (Dorsey) is all set to star as Peter Pan in a lavish school production.
Frustrated, Alexander makes a wish that tomorrow, his twelfth birthday, be a good day and that everyone in his family gets to experience what it’s like to be him for twenty-four hours. His wish comes true and spots, colds, pukey babies, typos and an incensed Dick Van Dyke all contribute in making this day the worst ever.
Alexander... hits more than misses thanks to the spot on performances: Carell and Garner have fun while Oxenbould, Dorsey and Minnette show some comic timing. Oxenbould in particular stands out by somehow making his potentially-annoying character into something warmer (even if the obsession with all things Australian isn’t really explained away).
Roping in director Miguel Arteta to call the shots was an odd idea since Arteta is best known for the ‘slightly edgy’ marriage drama The Good Girl and the ‘slightly edgy’ teen comedy Youth In Revolt. He leaves his slightly edginess at home to offer nothing but good clean fun here. Anyone who liked the Wimpy Kid franchise should go along.
By the way, if you find yourself thinking that some poor busboy is going to have to pick up all those bins you’re in good company.