Why Him?: Film Review

Ned has the perfect life. He has a great family, a once successful business and a daughter he loves more than anything. When his daughter Stephanie wants her parents to come to California for Christmas to meet her new boyfriend, Ned starts a war.

Stephanie, played by Zoey Deutch, is a senior at Stanford and dating tech millionaire Laird Mayhew. Mayhew, James Franco, made his money by building a popular app but he doesn’t really know how to interact with people. He is crude and speaks his mind which sends Ned over the edge. Things get worse when Laird asks Ned for his permission to marry Stephanie.

On the surface, Why Him? shouldn’t be a good movie. The premise is predictable, the humor is overused and the actors play the same characters they always do but it’s actually good. Even though you know how everything will end you are kept laughing, and even at some points crying, until the end. Yes, the jokes are ones that we have seen before but Brian Cranston, who plays Ned, and Franco make it look effortless.

The best part of the movie may be the characters Gustav, played by the great character actor Keegan-Michael Key, and Barb Fleming, Megan Mullaly. The scenes where Gustav pops up are some of the best. Key has a way of making everything he does into something extremely funny. At first Gustav seems like a butler or assistant to Mayhew but he is more than that and coaches Mayhew on how to approach Ned. He is a great friend and a funny one too.

Mullaly plays Barb, Stephanie’s mother, and while she isn’t front and center in the movie there is one scene where Mullaly shines. It isn’t the most appropriate scene to discuss but take my word for it, it is hilarious. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Mullaly is great. She first gained fame for playing Karen Walker in the popular 1998 television show Will & Grace. Since then she has appeared on Bob’s Burgers and Parks and Rec. Some of the biggest laughs come from her character.

Why Him? was written by director John Hamburg and Jonah Hill. Hamburg has written a lot of movies over the years, I Love You, Man, Along Came Polly and Meet the Parents, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the script is very good. The dialog seems effortless and, as I have said before, it is really funny. This is the first movie Hamburg has directed and hopefully it won’t be his last.

This movie is rude, crude and definitely deserves its R rating but if raunchy humor is what you like then Why Him? is sure to please. The best thing about Why Him? is that even though it is predictable, you will want to see how it ends. It has heart and humor so what more could you want?

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