Bryan Cranston and James Franco in a new Christmas comedy written by Jonah Hill. What could be more intriguing?
Why Him? is a modern re-work of ‘Meet the Parents’ directed and co-written by John Hamburg (Meet the Parents/Fockers and Zoolander). Ned (Bryan Cranston) and Barb play the parents of a 22-year-old university student, Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) who they discover is dating thirty-something billionaire, Laird (James Franco), a guy you would not want to introduce to your parents in a hurry.
As the horrified parents are forced to spend a long weekend with their daughter in their worst nightmare’s house, it soon descends into a bitter rivalry between Laird and Ned, who are on a constant mission to one-up each other. Seemingly as hard as Laird tries, having no social filter is an unsuccessful trait when attempting to gain marriage approval from the father of your girlfriend.
Although they are not covering new ground with this film and it is your standard predictable comedy for the majority, all the characters are extremely likeable (especially Justine, the in-home artificial intelligence.) From the very beginning, there are plenty of crass moments that will have you laughing out loud or wanting to crawl under your seat from cringing too hard. As soon as you see a dead moose suspended in a urine filled glass tank you become increasingly aware that the urine will most likely flood said area or in this case, a certain character not only getting crushed by a dead moose, but having the added pleasure of its ball sack being stuck to their face.
If you’re about to re-watch ‘Elf’ or ‘Love Actually’ for the hundredth time, I would definitely consider giving this film a watch at Christmas instead. Obviously, it’s never going to be a Christmas classic but it is filled with elaborate scenes, awkward sex situations and immature humour, alongside unexpected moments of heart and emotion. Overall in comparison with recent releases, it is undoubtedly a unique offering and at the very least you get to watch the incredible actor that is Bryan Cranston for an hour and fifty minutes or just stare at James Franco if that’s more your thing.
Why Him? is out in UK cinemas on Boxing Day.
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