“Alexander” an Effective Reminder of Our Blessings

One of the things that makes Miguel Arteta’s adaptation of Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day so enjoyable is that it wastes little time obsessing on the unfortunate events that befall its title character, concentrating instead on all of the positives in his life.  This seems like a simple approach, and one that’s certainly borrowed from the book, yet it’s done in such a way that it never comes off as cloying or overstated.  Of course, Alexander doesn’t see it that way. He feels as though his unemployed dad Ben (Steve Carell) and breadwinner mom Kelly (Jennifer Garner) are overly positive, seeing nothing but sunshine and opportunity whenever misfortune occurs whereas he sees doom and despair.

A child’s perspective is one of extremes – their lives are either great or awful, with little variation in between, often vacillating back and forth between these two classifications every ten minutes.  Alexander gently reminds us of this as the title character, never overplayed by Oxenbould, suffers with dignity, which makes the good times he’s blessed with all the more rewarding as we feel he’s earned them. At its core, the film reminds us that ultimately, a loving family is our foundation as they are there to catch us when we fall, always there to provide us something good and safe when everything else goes so horrible wrong. Yeah, it’s a simple message but one worth repeating, reminding us to appreciate that which we so often take for granted.

For a full review, go to: http://illinoistimes.com/blog-14601-%25E2%2580%259Calexander%25E2%2580%259D-an-effective-reminder-of-our-blessings.html