It’s a tried-and-true moviemaking formula: get two very different stars, write a script around their different strengths, and watch the hefty box office receipts roll in. It worked with Stiller, De Niro, Ferrell, and Wahlberg, and this time, it’s Bryan Cranston and James Franco in a film that resembles a mix of Father of the Bride and Meet the Parents.
In Why Him?, Cranston plays a straight-laced father who is understandably protective of his young daughter. When said daughter brings the family to her boyfriend’s house for this holidays, Dad’s overprotective tendencies shift into overdrive. That boyfriend, the comically named Laird Mayhew, is a dirty-mouth that is unfortunately NOT played by Aaron Paul, but hey, James Franco is pretty good at this acting thing.
Directed by John Hamburg (I Love You, Man), Why Him? aims to bring laughs and heart (but mostly laughs) to the multiplex these holidays. While there’s no denying the star power and talent of the two leads, only time will tell if they can deliver with this material, or flounder under lofty expectations. In other words, will Why Him? be more like Meet the Parents, or Meet the Fockers?
Check out the red band trailers below, and see the film in theaters on Christmas Day.
