Why So Blu?

Why Him? Spreads The F-ing Holiday Cheer (Movie Review)

Why Him? is ordinarily not the kind of film I would go see in the theaters.  Had it not been for two key factors I don’t think I would have gone.  First it has the very irresistible and hilarious trailers on its side.   That Red-band one is insane.  Although I’m hoping all the funny parts were not included in said trailers.  Second, there’s the nod to “from the makers of I Love You Man.”  I love that comedy!  So as you can see right from the get go I’m walking into Why Him? ahead in the count.  Now is the moment of truth and also the chance to have fun with the title’s question mark.  What did I think of Why Him?  That is the question we are all pondering here, right?  Why Him?

It should come as no surprise that Why Him? is a romantic comedy film.  It’s also sort of a Christmas film due to its December 23rd calendar release date.  That much is pretty evident from the posters and trailers alone.  John Hamburg directs it all from a script he wrote with Ian Helfer.  The film stars James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Zoey Deutch, Megan Mullally, Griffin Gluck and Keegan-Michael Key.  The latter had me in stitches from Keanu so sign me up for this trip with no questions asked except this one.  What do you do when you find out your only daughter is about to be engaged to a millionaire idiot?  Well you ask Why Him?  Sorry I couldn’t resist it.  LOL.

Ned Fleming (Cranston), his wife Barb (Mullally) and their 15-year old son Scott (Gluck) get the shock of their life when visiting their daughter Stephanie (Deutch) out in sunny San Jose, California.  They meet Stephanie’s wealthy and famous boyfriend, Laird Mayhew (Franco).  That sounds fine and dandy, but there’s one big problem with Laird.   He’s downright despising to Ned because of his lewd, crude and vulgar mouth/actions.  There’s not telling what he’s going to do or say next.  His character literally has no filter and I love it.  I could see my parents reacting the same way as Ned does, but that money…

There’s also no denying Stephanie is madly in love with Laird, but Ned is dead set against this relationship from even existing.  Things only get worse when Laird reveals his plans to Ned.  He wants to propose to Stephanie in five days (on Christmas Day).  It now becomes a wild race against the clock as Laird seeks to win over Barb and Scott while Ned schemes to extinguish the young couples’ flames once and for all.  Without ever seeing this and just taking my words as gospel it kind of reminds me of the relationship between Stiller and DeNiro in Meet The Parents, does it not?

So all kidding aside here’s the deal.  Why Him? is a non-stop laugh riot.  I have not laughed that hard at a comedy theatrically since probably The Hangover.  That’s a long time.  Now don’t get me wrong Why Him? is no Hangover, but it was hysterical enough to the point where you actually miss lines of dialogue because everyone in the theater is laughing so uncontrollably over what they just saw.  That’s when you know you have comedic gold on your hands.  I can’t wait to watch the “Line-O-Ramas” on the Blu-ray release of this one.  You can just instantly tell they must of had a blast filming this one and here’s why.

First off the performances of Why Him? are what make this comedy so special.  Its the non verbal facial expressions that Cranston makes that leaves you in stitches.  Sometimes he doesn’t even need to speak a word as his face says it all playing against Franco and other actions (wait until you see the toilet scene).  Second, and I mentioned this up above already, Franco’s characters knows no limits and/or boundaries.  His lack of filter are what make this comedy the romp wild success it is.  You never know what’s going to come out of his mouth and sometimes when he’s actually trying to filter himself his words are even funnier.  Last but not least, its the special cameos and throwbacks in this one that got to me in a very good way.  I’m not going to spoil any of them, but the one set of cameos holds a special place in my heart and as soon as I saw them onscreen I knew this one would be getting very high regards from me.  Oh yeah, there’s also the heart warming story underneath it all too.

So I guess you can say Why Him? has a little Rated-R fun for everyone out there from a decent story with off-the-wall performances and hilarious antics to throwbacks and special surprises that will rekindle you with your inner self and youth (depending upon how old you are).  Sadly I’m closer to the age of Cranston’s character in this one than I am with Franco, so I can definitely relate (and I don’t even have human kids).  It’s movie magic at its finest!  The best thing about this one, which I feared going in, is that there are still a lot of surprises and fun to be had with Why Him? outside of its trailers.  Most comedies give a lot of the funny moments away in the trailers to pack those seats.  Why Him? is no exception to that rule.  Thankfully, there was a lot more to work with here in addition to all the trailer moments.  So for all the reasons listed above and the F-U-N factor to be had with Why Him? I whole heartedly recommend it this holiday season.  Merry Christmas indeed!

*

*

The Question…

Why Him?

Gets Answered

In Theaters Everywhere

December 23rd

*