Why Him? (2016)

Director: John Hamburg

Starring: Zoey Deutch, James Franco, Tangie Ambrose, Bryan Cranston

A holiday gathering threatens to go off the rails when Ned Fleming realizes that his daughter’s Silicon Valley millionaire boyfriend is about to pop the question.

The ‘Him’ in question is billionaire Laird Mayhew (James Franco), and the ‘Why’ is Ned Fleming (Bryan Cranston) wondering why his daughter, Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) had to fall in love with Laird.

Laird is a down to earth guy. He is extremely wealthy and foul-mouthed, but he can’t tell a lie. His honesty, however, sometimes comes across offensive, and Ned and his wife, Barb (Megan Mullally) have a hard time accepting him as their future son in law. There’s no real chemistry between Laird and Stephanie, so I didn’t really view this as a romantic comedy.

‘Why Him?’ shows us the incredible lives of Internet billionaires. We also get an interesting glimpse at future technology. As for the premise, it is not believable at all. I mean, there’s even more unlikely moments here than ‘Meet the Parents’ or ‘The Hangover’ – only cruder and ruder. By the end of the movie – and once you really get to know Laird – it is actually a really sweet movie.

Although comedies are not generally my genre of choice, this was entertaining. I particularly enjoyed Bryan Cranston as the concerned Dad. I also liked Megan Mullaly as the Mother.

‘Why Him?’ was a box office success, earning $118 million on a $38 million budget.

Would I watch it again? No.