Why Him? - directed by John Hamburg
I have a friend who for years has used a phrase to describe movies that he neither hated not loved.
Movies that maybe weren't worth seeing on the big screen but on a weekly rental or on Netflix on a Saturday night do a perfectly great job of entertaining.
And "Why Him?" fits his description to perfection.
The phrase is 'A pleasant little time waster'.
Yeah, it sounds like a backhanded compliment but it is actually completely a genuine one.
"Why Him?" has some name stars, a story by Jonah Hill and its producers include Shawn Levy and Ben Stiller.
It has a pedigree of sorts.
Now if you have seen any of the reviews for this movie you may be confused by that description but there was no way that this film was ever going to get good reviews.
I understand why many didn't like it but for me it made me laugh and that is really all that counts.
The premise here is absurdly simply and has been ludicrously overused.
A middle class man with a nice house and a daughter who is very much 'Daddy's little girl' discovers that she is in a serious relationship with a young man who he doesn't like one little bit.
When the family is invited to spend Christmas with the daughter and her new boyfriend the outlook grows ever bleaker for the Father.
Bryan Cranston as the Father is inspired casting.
Of course he is a fine actor but this role reminded me somewhat of his brilliant comedic work in the tv show "Malcolm in the Middle".
He clashes with the boyfriend played by James Franco in a role that can only ever have been intended for him - so perfectly does it mirror at least half a dozen similar performances.
The pair work very well together.
Toss in the great Megan Mullally, rapidly rising star Zoey Deutch and a goofy turn from Keegan-Michael Key though and the ingredients are there to rise above the hackneyed premise.
While it doesn't pull that off it does at least provide a steady stream of laughs and features characters at least likeable enough that I cared at least a little bit for their plight.
On the downside it is stupidly predictable and has a hasty wrap-up that most people should see coming before the first scene is finished.
What success the film does have is completely on the cast.
Franco plays the unfiltered wild man so well that I often wonder if it isn't just the way he is off film.
He plays Laird Mayhew a hugely successful games developer who cannot refrain from dropping F bombs roughly every third word.
The scene in which the nice middle American Father, Mother and Son first meet him made me laugh a lot.
It is low brow as hell and relies purely on profanity coming out of the mouth of a minor for its humour but dammit it worked on me.
And Keegan-Michael Key as Laird's German(?) assistant Gustav is a hoot.
He is so obviously inspired by Kato from the Pink Panther movies that Cranston at one point comments to this effect drawing blank stares from Laird and Gustav.
Key leaps out at Franco to keep his defence skills up to par.
At one point while feeding some chickens Laird is ambushed and tosses a bird at Gustav who punches it out of the way.
Yeah- I said that it was low brow.
But funny God help me.
Really this movie is more a series of skits lumped together into something resembling a plot but so many scenes drew laughs that to me the lack of a believable story, character arcs or genuine emotion didn't really matter.
Mullally has the chance to play comically sexy which she is masterful at.
Any scene featuring Keegan-Michael Key work and there is a very funny hacking-gone-wrong sequence.
Deutch is insanely cute in a girl next door way and Cranston and Franco manage to retain audience sympathy in equal measure making the rivalry more about what the get up to as opposed to how it turns out.
And I need to give credit to the script for one thing....
It never tips the characters so far over the edge that it becomes cringeworthy.
So often in these sorts of comedies there is moment where the hero does something to get so far offside with his wife/girlfriend/family that the final act is all about him doing something to patch up his indiscretion.
Think any of the Fockers movies for instance.
"Why Him?" finds an alternative which while flirting with the device still provides a nice change.
It means that this movie is completely lacking in tension and the finale is so over the top the arrival of two member from the band KISS doesn't even seem odd.
A pleasant little time waster indeed.
RATING: 74 / 100
CONCLUSION: Predictable and underwritten it may be but there are more than enough laughs in here so long as low brow silliness is your cup of tea.
Starring: Bryan Cranston, James Franco, Zoey Deutch, Megan Mullally, Keegan-Michael Key, Casey Wilson, Cedric the Entertainer, Adam Devine, Zack Pearlman, Andrew Rannells, Griffin Gluck, Kaley Cuoco
Screenplay: John Hamburg & Ian Helfer
Music Score by: Theodore Shapiro
Cinematography: Kris Kachikis
Cinematography: Kris Kachikis
Edited by: William Kerr
Running Time: 111 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Frequent Profanity and mild Violence
Running Time: 111 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Frequent Profanity and mild Violence
Movies that maybe weren't worth seeing on the big screen but on a weekly rental or on Netflix on a Saturday night do a perfectly great job of entertaining.
And "Why Him?" fits his description to perfection.
The phrase is 'A pleasant little time waster'.
Yeah, it sounds like a backhanded compliment but it is actually completely a genuine one.
"Why Him?" has some name stars, a story by Jonah Hill and its producers include Shawn Levy and Ben Stiller.
It has a pedigree of sorts.
Now if you have seen any of the reviews for this movie you may be confused by that description but there was no way that this film was ever going to get good reviews.
I understand why many didn't like it but for me it made me laugh and that is really all that counts.
 |
| Bryan Cranston and James Franco |
A middle class man with a nice house and a daughter who is very much 'Daddy's little girl' discovers that she is in a serious relationship with a young man who he doesn't like one little bit.
When the family is invited to spend Christmas with the daughter and her new boyfriend the outlook grows ever bleaker for the Father.
Bryan Cranston as the Father is inspired casting.
Of course he is a fine actor but this role reminded me somewhat of his brilliant comedic work in the tv show "Malcolm in the Middle".
He clashes with the boyfriend played by James Franco in a role that can only ever have been intended for him - so perfectly does it mirror at least half a dozen similar performances.
The pair work very well together.
Toss in the great Megan Mullally, rapidly rising star Zoey Deutch and a goofy turn from Keegan-Michael Key though and the ingredients are there to rise above the hackneyed premise.
 |
| Franco, Keegan-Michael Key and Zoey Deutch |
On the downside it is stupidly predictable and has a hasty wrap-up that most people should see coming before the first scene is finished.
What success the film does have is completely on the cast.
Franco plays the unfiltered wild man so well that I often wonder if it isn't just the way he is off film.
He plays Laird Mayhew a hugely successful games developer who cannot refrain from dropping F bombs roughly every third word.
The scene in which the nice middle American Father, Mother and Son first meet him made me laugh a lot.
It is low brow as hell and relies purely on profanity coming out of the mouth of a minor for its humour but dammit it worked on me.
And Keegan-Michael Key as Laird's German(?) assistant Gustav is a hoot.
He is so obviously inspired by Kato from the Pink Panther movies that Cranston at one point comments to this effect drawing blank stares from Laird and Gustav.
Key leaps out at Franco to keep his defence skills up to par.
At one point while feeding some chickens Laird is ambushed and tosses a bird at Gustav who punches it out of the way.
Yeah- I said that it was low brow.
But funny God help me.
 |
| Megan Mullally |
Mullally has the chance to play comically sexy which she is masterful at.
Any scene featuring Keegan-Michael Key work and there is a very funny hacking-gone-wrong sequence.
Deutch is insanely cute in a girl next door way and Cranston and Franco manage to retain audience sympathy in equal measure making the rivalry more about what the get up to as opposed to how it turns out.
And I need to give credit to the script for one thing....
It never tips the characters so far over the edge that it becomes cringeworthy.
So often in these sorts of comedies there is moment where the hero does something to get so far offside with his wife/girlfriend/family that the final act is all about him doing something to patch up his indiscretion.
Think any of the Fockers movies for instance.
"Why Him?" finds an alternative which while flirting with the device still provides a nice change.
It means that this movie is completely lacking in tension and the finale is so over the top the arrival of two member from the band KISS doesn't even seem odd.
A pleasant little time waster indeed.
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