‘Why Him?’ Review: James Franco, Bryan Cranston Play Dumb in Witless Comedy
The comedy is directed by John Hamburg, author of all three “Fockers” movies, with Ben Stiller’s production company backing it, and it’s clear that this brain trust decided that all they’d have to do is reverse the formula — make the son-in-law the weird one and the father-in-law uptight — and they could just sit back and let the laughs roll in.
Laird’s idea of putting out the welcome mat is to tattoo the Flemings’ Christmas-card photo across his back, and over meals of smoked bear meat and edible paper, he tends to overshare, frequently using strong language.
[...] Ned freaks out when he finds out that Laird intends to propose to Stephanie, and that she plans to drop out of Stanford to run Laird’s global health foundation.
The only performers who manage to wring laughs out of the barely-there comedy are Mullally, who finds deep wells of friskiness as the oft-neglected Barb, and Key, acting in his own private screwball comedy, down to the goofy accent.
“Why Him?” is the kind of movie that makes trendy sophistication and homespun values look equally unattractive; the only remaining alternative is anarchy, an ingredient that’s sadly lacking in this bland, formulaic comedy.