WHY HIM?
***
Director: John Hamburg
Screenwriter: John Hamburg and Ian Helfer
Principal cast:
James Franco
Zoey Deutch
Tangie Ambrose
Cedric the Entertainer
Bob Stephenson
Bryan Cranston
Country: USA/Cambodia
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 111 mins.
Australian release date: 26 December 2016
If gross-out humour is your thing, then Why Him? ticks all the boxes. Directed by John Hamburg, the writer of the Zoolander and Focker franchises, there are enough cringe-making moments in this script to make it fit squarely into that specific comedy genre. And not since he played ‘Alien’ in Spring Breakers have we been treated to so much bare-chested screen time from James Franco, replete with heavily tattooed torso and low-cut jeans!
Laird Mayhew, a Silicon Valley multi-millionaire played by Franco, is besotted with his girlfriend Stephanie Fleming (Zoey Deutch). When Stephanie is skyping home to wish her father Ned (Bryan Cranston) a happy 55th birthday, and Laird appears in the background removing said jeans (get the picture!), you know that an imminent visit from the family to see their daughter at Stanford Uni. will not go well… especially when Laird insists the Flemings stay at his mansion.
The film deals with relationships both intimate and familial, particularly the rivalry between the two men vying for Stephanie’s affection when Ned realises that Laird is about to pop the question to his beloved daughter. Cranston and Franco are both great at these kinds of roles and it’s a treat to see them together here. There’s a bit to like in Why Him? even if it’s slight and easily forgettable… although it’s difficult to forget an appearance by veteran rockers Kiss in one of the movie’s more bizarre moments. The whole concoction provides a momentary escape during the festive season, if only to be in the presence of Mr. Franco’s attributes for 111 minutes!
Screenwriter: John Hamburg and Ian Helfer
Principal cast:
James Franco
Zoey Deutch
Tangie Ambrose
Cedric the Entertainer
Bob Stephenson
Bryan Cranston
Country: USA/Cambodia
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 111 mins.
Australian release date: 26 December 2016
If gross-out humour is your thing, then Why Him? ticks all the boxes. Directed by John Hamburg, the writer of the Zoolander and Focker franchises, there are enough cringe-making moments in this script to make it fit squarely into that specific comedy genre. And not since he played ‘Alien’ in Spring Breakers have we been treated to so much bare-chested screen time from James Franco, replete with heavily tattooed torso and low-cut jeans!
Laird Mayhew, a Silicon Valley multi-millionaire played by Franco, is besotted with his girlfriend Stephanie Fleming (Zoey Deutch). When Stephanie is skyping home to wish her father Ned (Bryan Cranston) a happy 55th birthday, and Laird appears in the background removing said jeans (get the picture!), you know that an imminent visit from the family to see their daughter at Stanford Uni. will not go well… especially when Laird insists the Flemings stay at his mansion.
The film deals with relationships both intimate and familial, particularly the rivalry between the two men vying for Stephanie’s affection when Ned realises that Laird is about to pop the question to his beloved daughter. Cranston and Franco are both great at these kinds of roles and it’s a treat to see them together here. There’s a bit to like in Why Him? even if it’s slight and easily forgettable… although it’s difficult to forget an appearance by veteran rockers Kiss in one of the movie’s more bizarre moments. The whole concoction provides a momentary escape during the festive season, if only to be in the presence of Mr. Franco’s attributes for 111 minutes!