Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day review – agitating matinee fare

Here’s a pretty ordinary Disney response to Fox’s sharper Diary of a Wimpy Kid series: bright yet sensitive pre-teen (Ed Oxenbould, not quite winning enough) feels dreadful for commuting – via an errant birthday wish – 24 hours of bad luck onto his nearest and dearest; 75 minutes of sketches involving car crashes, vomit and escaped kangaroos ensue, followed by a five-minute affirmation of the family that “steers its ship with positivity”. The grownups grab a few legitimately funny bits, but it makes for strangely agitating, passive-aggressive matinee fare: perhaps you just have to enjoy watching rows breaking out more than this viewer does.