X
- 2016
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 51 m
- 2016
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 51 m
Summary Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly ina...
Directed By: John Hamburg
Written By: Ian Helfer, Jonah Hill, John Hamburg
- 2016
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 51 m
- 2016
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 51 m
Why Him?
39
7.7
Where to Watch
Summary Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The straight-laced Ned thinks Laird, who has absolutely no filter, is a wildly ina...
Directed By: John Hamburg
Written By: Ian Helfer, Jonah Hill, John Hamburg
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
39
30% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
40% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
30% Negative
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
39
30% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
40% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
30% Negative
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
It’s a smart gen-gap tale with loveable characters.
Franco’s outlandish Laird dude is fascinatingly unfiltered, either when it comes to his non-stop F-bombs or his love-seeking shenanigans. It’s all a bit rompy, with a touch of the-world-is-a-changin’ commentary.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 311 User Ratings
7.7
68% Positive
210 Ratings
210 Ratings
22% Mixed
68 Ratings
68 Ratings
11% Negative
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 311 User Ratings
7.7
68% Positive
210 Ratings
210 Ratings
22% Mixed
68 Ratings
68 Ratings
11% Negative
33 Ratings
33 Ratings
Overall great movie
Honestly, everyone who reviewed this movie must be very sad individuals. This movie obviously wasn't meant to be the best picture of the year, but it really had its own way of speaking to its viewers. The comedy wasn't what I thought it would be, but the overall emotion I felt from this movie was impeccable. It made me happy, it made me cringe, it made me laugh. This movie deserves no negative reviews, simply because it is what it is and if you don't appreciate that then don't bother leaving your negative opinion.
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The hit rate gets better as the film lumbers along and the scenarios grow more extreme, but it takes a certain degree of perseverance to roll with this thing until it pays off.
It all works in theory. But the execution’s off.
Hamburg’s always reaching for poo-based humour in his more desperate moments.
Despite flashes of brilliance, Why Him? is perfunctory and boorish, the sort of film that already has begun to fade from memory before you’re too annoyed by it.
Not funny, not funny, not funny, not funny, not funny.
James Franco is raunchy, but sometimes he's so over-the-top, that his films start out funny, and half way through it's just not that funny anymore. When you use your best lines and dirtiest bits in the first half-hour, an hour later, you're hard pressed to out due yourself. The writers of Why Him? tried to combat this problem, by taking Franco's large than life personality and combining it with the dry humor and physical comedy of Bryan Cranston, and the results were mixed. It's holiday season and Stephanie Fleming (Zoey Deutch), wants her parents to meet her new boyfriend, only she doesn't want to tell them anything about him before hand, because if she did, they probably wouldn't come. They are quiet, reserved suburbanites from Cleveland, and he's a dot com millionaire from California, who loves anything new and unusual. As the two sides of Stephanie's life combine, hilarity ensues or at least it's supposed to. Bryan Cranston and surprisingly young Griffin Gluck had the best lines, and were involved in the funniest moments of this film. As for James Franco, once again, he was too much and he has to realize that every comedic role he takes isn't Pineapple Express. The role here calls for eccentricity, not raunchy and stupid. Right from the start and all the way through, every other word out of his mouth was **** and every stunt he pulled was more immature than the next. It takes a lot away from the film, especially the ending, which was just ridiculous and simply doesn't fit with the rest of the movie. The bottom line, the story is interesting, Bryan Cranston is always great and Griffin Gluck was a riot. The film definitely has it's moments, but every time you think it's about to turn a corner, Franco shows up to drop a million F bomb, talk about his ****, and preform stunts better left to the stoner movies.
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I usually (and quite easily) hand out 8, 9 or 10 stars to a film. In fact, the majority of movies I watch receive good-to-excellent scores from me. This one however, does not.
The jokes often feel exaggerated and forced, and are embarrassingly childish with far too much profanity. I can't remember the last time I cringed so often. Sure, there was the occasional joke which received a giggle from just about everyone, but the majority of the humour was replied to with silence and head-shaking. It seriously felt like it was a movie thrown together quickly to make a decent enough trailer to lure an audience. So, don't fall for it. You've been warned.
3.4 / 10
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If I had to nearly describe this film in less than an entire page of reviews and it'd be quite easy to describe it without even making up a review, it'd definitely be: Why does this movie exist?
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Production Company
Twentieth Century Fox,
Red Hour Films,
21 Laps Entertainment,
TSG Entertainment,
75 Year Plan Productions
Release Date Dec 23, 2016
Duration 1 h 51 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Of all the guys his daughter could have chosen...
Awards
Sant Jordi Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
