''Why Him?'' is a 2016 American buddy comedy film written and directed by

John Hamburg John Liman Hamburg (born May 26, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. Personal life Hamburg was born to a Jewish family in Manhattan, the son of New York City radio personality Joan Hamburg and Morton I. Hamburg. He gr ...

, co-written by Ian Helfer, and starring James Franco and Bryan Cranston with Zoey Deutch,

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...

, Griffin Gluck and Keegan-Michael Key in supporting roles. The film follows a father who tries to stop his daughter's immature tech-millionaire boyfriend from asking her to marry him. The film premiered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on December 17, 2016, was released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in the United States on December 23, 2016. It received generally negative reviews from critics, but was a financial success, grossing $118 million worldwide on a $52 million dollar budget.

Plot

Stanford student Stephanie Fleming invites her boyfriend Laird Mayhew over to "

Netflix and chill "Netflix and chill" is an Internet slang term used as a euphemism for sexual activity, either as part of a romantic partnership, as casual sex, or as a groupie invitation. Since its first recorded, nonsexual use in a tweet posted in 2009,First ...

". Meanwhile, back home in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, Stephanie's dad Ned is celebrating his 55th birthday with friends and family at an Applebee's restaurant. During a slideshow presentation in his honor, Stephanie drops in via webcam to congratulate him, when suddenly her boyfriend walks in on her and flashes the camera. Stephanie drives her family – parents Ned and Barb and younger brother Scotty – to Laird's villa to meet him. She explains to Ned that Laird is the CEO of a video game company, which has made him extremely wealthy. Laird gives the family a tour of his house, complete with curse words and inappropriate comments about Barb. He then reveals a large tattoo of the Flemings' Christmas card on his back, complete with "Happy Holidays" written underneath. In the living room is a tank with a moose filled completely with its urine. The basement has a bowling alley that Laird built with a mural of Ned, posed in a "crotch-chop" position. Ned talks to Stephanie about Laird's behavior and she asks him to give him a chance. Later, Laird invites Ned to go for a walk in the woods outside his house and asks Ned for his blessing to propose to Stephanie to marry him. Ned is quick to say no, which completely blindsides Laird, who had been confident that Ned would say yes. Laird promises to win him over. As the family gathers in Laird's living room for a Christmas party, Laird reveals that he bought Ned's struggling printing company as a gift to remove all his debts. Instead of expressing gratitude, Ned punches Laird in the face and they begin to fight. Stephanie and Barb are both angry at the partner's behavior, and the family leaves Laird's home. On Christmas Day, the Flemings are celebrating without Stephanie. They are surprised when Laird's helicopter arrives with Stephanie. She is still mad at both Ned and Laird for their behavior and refuses to talk to either of them. Ned and Laird talk and Laird gets Ned's blessing to propose to Stephanie. However, Stephanie declines the proposal saying she is not ready to get married, but she wants them to continue dating. Later during the party, Ned and Scotty approach Laird for a new business idea, since they are all part of the same company now. Scotty says they should sell the same toilets Laird has in his home since they would be very profitable. Laird likes the idea and agrees. The couples then dance together as music plays, with Ned referring to Laird as "son". Scotty, Ned, and Laird eventually turn the printing company into a toilet factory and become a profitable company. Stephanie uses the Fleming-Mayhew conglomerate to help underdeveloped countries with their sewage projects. Finally, Laird has what he always wanted, to be part of a family.

Cast

* James Franco as Laird Mayhew, an eccentric, foul-mouthed CEO of a video game company and Stephanie's boyfriend * Bryan Cranston as Ned Fleming, Stephanie's conservative father and Barb's husband * Zoey Deutch as Stephanie Fleming, Laird's girlfriend, Ned and Barb's daughter, and Scotty's older sister *

as Barb Fleming, Ned's wife and Stephanie's mother *

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's ''ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and ''Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is bes ...

as Lou Dunne, Patty's husband and Ned's best friend and business partner * Griffin Gluck as Scotty Fleming, Stephanie's 15-year-old younger brother and Ned and Barb's son * Keegan-Michael Key as Gustav, Laird's best friend, butler, assistant and trainer, who also manages his estate * Tangie Ambrose as Patty Dunne, Lou's wife *

Zack Pearlman Zachary Michael Pearlman (born May 19, 1988) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Zack in ''The Virginity Hit''. He has co-starred in short-lived television comedies such as MTV's ''The Inbetweeners'' and on the Fox sitcom ''M ...

as Kevin Dingle, Ned's I.T. guy *

Kaley Cuoco Kaley Christine Cuoco ( ; born November 30, 1985) is an American actress. After a series of supporting film and television roles in the late 1990s, she landed her breakthrough role as Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom ''8 Simple Rules'' (2002 ...

as the voice of Justine, Laird's in-home

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

Casey Wilson Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson (born October 24, 1980) is an American actress, comedienne, and screenwriter. She starred as Penny Hartz in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'' for which she was twice nominated to the Critics' Choice Television A ...

as Missy Pederman, Blaine's sister and the owner of an online invitation company called StampFree Invites *

Andrew Rannells Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American film, stage, television and voice actor. Rannells is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'' for which he was nomin ...

as Blaine Pederman, Missy's brother and business partner *

Adam DeVine Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series ''Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Par ...

as Tyson Modell, the creator of the wildly popular Ghostchat app * Steve Bannos as Tree Lot Owner Burt *

Mary Pat Gleason Mary Pat Gleason (February 23, 1950 – June 2, 2020) was an American film and television actress and an Emmy Award-winning writer. From 1983 to 1985, she appeared as "Jane Hogan" on the daytime soap opera ''Guiding Light'', for which she was als ...

as Joyce * Bob Stephenson as Jerry in Graphics There are cameos by technology, gaming, and entertainment figures, including Burnie Burns,

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

Richard Blais Richard Blais (born February 12, 1972) is an American chef, television personality, restaurateur and author. He appeared on the reality show cooking show ''Top Chef'', and is known for his take on classic American cuisine. Blais was the runner-u ...

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...

Toby Turner Toby Joseph Turner (born March 3, 1985), also known by his stage name Tobuscus, is an American Internet personality and actor. Originally from Niceville, Florida, he is best known for his YouTube videos. As of November 5, 2021, Turner has a to ...

, and

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

and

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...

of ''

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

''.

Production

On November 18, 2014, it was announced that

and Ian Helfer were co-writing a comedy film, ''Why Him?'', for

. On February 27, 2015, James Franco was in talks to star in the film, playing a young billionaire. Shawn Levy's

21 Laps Entertainment 21 Laps Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and run by director-producer Shawn Levy. The company is best known as the producers of ''Stranger Things'', and exclusively distributes content through a partner ...

and Ben Stiller's

Red Hour Productions Red Hour Productions or Red Hour Films is an American film production company operated by actor Ben Stiller and formerly with producer Stuart Cornfeld. In the past, Red Hour has had first-look deals with New Line Cinema, and currently has an exclu ...

were set to produce the film, about a Midwestern father who travels with his family to visit his daughter at college, and finds himself disliking her new billionaire boyfriend. On August 25, 2015, Bryan Cranston was set to star in the film, playing the father. In August 2015, the film was selected by the California Film Commission to receive $5.4 million in tax credits. On December 8, 2015, Zoey Deutch was cast in the film's female lead role, as Cranston's character's daughter and the billionaire's girlfriend.

Bryce Dallas Howard Bryce Dallas Howard (born March 2, 1981) is an American actress and director. Howard was born in Los Angeles and attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, initially leaving in 2002 to take roles on Broadway but officially graduati ...

, Jordana Brewster and

Mélanie Laurent Mélanie Laurent (; born 21 February 1983) is a French actress, filmmaker, and singer. The recipient of two César Awards and a Lumières Award, she is an accomplished actress in the French film industry. Globally, she is best known for her role ...

were also considered. On January 12, 2016, Griffin Gluck was added to the cast of the film to play Scotty Fleming, the son of Cranston's character. On January 13, 2016,

joined the film to play Barb Fleming, the wife of Ned (Cranston). On January 19, 2016, Keegan-Michael Key was cast as the billionaire's European-hailing estate manager, and following him,

also signed on for a role in the film. Musician

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

also appeared in the film.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

on the film began in mid-February 2016 in

Release

''Why Him?'' was released in the United States on December 23, 2016, by

. It was originally planned for a November 11, 2016 release date. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and digital copy on March 28, 2017.

Box office

''Why Him?'' grossed $60.3 million in the United States and Canada and $57.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $118.1 million, against a production budget of $52 million. ''Why Him?'' was expected to gross $10–14 million from 2,917 theaters over its first four days of release. It grossed $3.9 million on its first day and $11 million during its opening weekend (a four-day total of $15.5 million), finishing 4th at the box office.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Why Him?'' has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads: "Solidly cast but overall misconceived, ''Why Him?'' offers the odd chuckle, but ultimately adds disappointingly little to its tired father-vs.-fiancé formula." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Commentary

French political scientist Thibault Muzergues remarks in his book ''The Great Class Shift'' that the film captures the tension created by the contrast in values between the

Protestant work ethic The Protestant work ethic, also known as the Calvinist work ethic or the Puritan work ethic, is a work ethic concept in theology, sociology, economics and history which emphasizes that diligence, discipline, and frugality are a result of a person ...

of the suburban

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

, as represented by Ned, and the looser approach of Laird and other members of the creative class, a real sociopolitical phenomenon.

References

External links

* * * {{John Hamburg 2016 films 2016 romantic comedy films 2010s Christmas films 2010s Christmas comedy films 20th Century Fox films 21 Laps Entertainment films American Christmas comedy films American romantic comedy films 2010s English-language films Films about marriage Films about father–daughter relationships Films directed by John Hamburg Films produced by Ben Stiller Films produced by Jonah Hill Films scored by Theodore Shapiro Films set in Palo Alto, California Films set in Michigan Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by John Hamburg Midlife crisis films Red Hour Productions films Films with screenplays by Jonah Hill 2010s American films