A comedy about a boyfriend trying to win over his girlfriend’s father is nothing new, but that might not matter when the movie’s cast includes acclaimed actors James Franco, Bryan Cranston, and Megan Mullally. The three can be seen in a new redband trailer for 20th Century Fox’s Why Him?, a film produced by none other than Meet the Parents’ Ben Stiller.
Franco plays Laird, an “internet zillionaire” who is dating a woman named Stephanie (Zoey Deutch). Their relationship is getting serious, but when her family comes to visit, he fails to make a good first impression. (Needless to say, some parents don’t react well to being greeted by a shirtless, tattooed man raining F-bombs down on them.) Nonetheless, he is determined to win them over so that he can secure their blessing to propose to Stephanie.
The father, Ned (Cranston), is particularly disapproving. Even though his daughter assures him that Laird is “a really good guy,” he is determined to take him down. “No father would want their daughter with this guy,” he says, apparently unimpressed with Laird’s comments about his sex life with Stephanie and how he has encouraged Ned’s wife (Mullally) to smoke pot.
While at times Laird seems like a stereotypical stoner, the fact that he’s a Silicon Valley billionaire comes into play in hilarious ways. At one point, he uses a drone to spy on Ned to make sure he doesn’t spill the beans about the upcoming proposal to Stephanie. Laird also uses his substantial financial resources to build a personalized bowling alley for Ned.
Why Him? is directed by James Hamburg and produced by Stiller alongside Shawn Levy, Jonah Hill, and Dan Levine.
The film hits theaters this holiday season, on Christmas Day.
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