Next up, Bryan Cranston, fresh from his stellar TV success with Breaking Bad makes his triumphant return to the Christmas movie with 2016’s Why Him?. John Hamburg brings his formidable comedic directing prowess to this playful, gross-out tale of typical mid-western couple Ned (Cranston) and Barb (Megan Mullally) who get a shock to the system when they discover their college student daughter is in a relationship with an older, eccentric, foul-mouthed dot com billionaire named Laird (James Franco). Much craziness ensues when the family are invited to spend the holidays at boisterous Laird’s fancy Palo Alto mansion as he tries to win Ned’s approval and get his blessing for a marriage proposal.
I’ve always preferred the prolific Franco when he’s playing it for laughs and this is some solid comedy nonsense. He and Cranston are both gifted comic performers but don’t do it as much these days, so it’s great to see them form this delightful odd couple pairing. Ned’s a strait-laced, traditional values kinda guy, stubbornly clinging to the past, even as his family-owned printing business is in danger of being left behind by modern technology. Laird isn’t just courting his beloved daughter – he represents everything Ned hates.
Laird is a fabulous comedy creation – he’s loud, eccentric, manic and impulsive with absolutely no filter but, crucially, he’s also a well-meaning guy who fiercely adores Ned’s daughter Stephanie (Zoey Deutch). Within seconds of meeting her family, he’s complimenting Barb on her “tight body” and interrogating their 15 year-old son on his favourite swearword (it’s ‘titties’). He’s the kind of guy who gets his girlfriend’s family tattooed on his back before he's even met them and has an art installation of a moose suspended in its own urine in his living room.
Yup, this is a no holds barred bad taste comedy that occasionally goes too far, but it’s all in good fun, with some smart ideas. Ned’s discomfort with Laird’s behaviour and lifestyle is exquisite throughout, trying desperately to comprehend what his daughter sees in this perpetually shirtless, F-bomb dropping, grinning loon. It’s like Meet the Parents in reverse, with Cranston expertly wringing laughs out of every pained expression.
Keegan Michael Key is on top form as Gustav, Laird’s oddly accented, parkour-ing personal assistant/best friend/butler. Ned likens him to Inspector Clouseau’s Cato – he's a ridiculously talented right hand man who helps run the show but also hilariously randomly attacks Laird to prepare him for potential kidnappings. More Christmas comedies would definitely benefit from random bursts of parkour.
The film has loads of smart gags, such as ‘Justine’ a kind of ultra-smart, disembodied ‘Amazon Alexa’ type super-intelligent AI that runs Laird’s house, is voiced by Kaley Cuoco has a cheeky personality all of her own. Then there’s Laird’s sentient electronic “paperless” toilet, leading to some brilliant awkwardness as Ned has to figure out how to wipe his bum. If that sounds funny to you then, like me, you’ve come to the right place.
The film also doesn’t skimp on the festive cheer. There’s an amusing tree-chopping scene where the boys finally bond, while elsewhere Laird throws a massive, outlandishly decadent Christmas party at the house, DJ’d by Steve Aoki and filled with the sort of over-privileged tech millionaire brats that Ned could never hope to understand.
Lots of the humour comes from Laird’s complete inability to be dishonest, leading to awkward talk about “sloppy car sex” in front of his future in-laws. Like all the best comedies, most of this works because the filthy, gross stuff is carefully balanced out by the film’s sweet, soft centre. Still, I really don’t think we needed a close-up of the moose’s testicles on the boy’s face. It’s perhaps not a Christmas classic, but is definitely a solid comedy effort. It’s hard not to love a film that has KISS show up for a rockin' festive sing-song crescendo. Why not?
Comments