
Thankfully Alexander isn’t nearly as terrible as some may expect. If you’ve checked the poster and trailer for this film, you may assume it will be yet another story of a dysfunctional family who make dumb decisions that result in over-the-top consequences. And his older brother Anthony (Dylan Minnette) is about to discover a few reasons why his up-coming night at the junior prom will be less than perfect. Meanwhile his sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey), who is set to perform the starring role in her school musical, has woken up with a cold. His unemployed Dad (Steve Carell) is worried about a job interview and his mother (Jennifer Garner) is anxious about being late for her work where she is in charge of a celebrity book reading. The next morning Alexander awakens to a family that has slept past the alarm.

Not able to sleep, he makes himself a birthday sundae and blows the candle out with a wish that the others in his family could have a bad day too so they can understand what he’s going through. Like the old saying about salt in a wound, Alexander sadly ponders the next day, which happens to be his birthday. Instead he sits through dinner listening to his parents and siblings describe all the great things that happened to them since breakfast. After Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenbould) has a day that includes setting his school science lab on fire, he comes home to his family for some solace.

We’ve all had bad days, but some days go beyond bad.
