Why Him? (2016)

Why Him? (2016)

7/10

Starring

James Franco

Bryan Cranston

Directed by John Hamburg

Why Him? isn’t a tough movie to like, and it’s fun to watch. The movie stars James Franco as Laird Mayhew, a weird, overgrown child who also happens to be a millionaire thanks to good investments and a video game. His behavior and views are enough to knock any father off his feet—especially when such a man shows up saying he wants to be your daughter’s partner or is already dating her.

The poor father in this movie is Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, who plays Ned Fleming, the father of Stephanie, who’s madly in love with her new boyfriend, Laird.

There have been many father-vs-boyfriend movies, and while this one follows a familiar path, the outstanding cast makes it stand out. Each actor delivers a memorable performance, and the events in the movie—like the bathroom mishap—will bring tears to your eyes from laughing so hard.

One cool thing about this movie is that, unlike other father-vs-boyfriend films where you’re supposed to dislike the overprotective father, here I found myself feeling like Ned wasn’t doing enough to protect his daughter. If I were in his shoes, I would’ve acted the same way. With the way Laird behaves—carrying on as if there’s no need to be civil—I’d be scared too if my daughter was considering being with him instead of finishing university.

Another thing I liked is that Franco’s portrayal of a childish character was bearable. There’s nothing more irritating than watching a movie where a character’s childish behavior is overacted and so unrealistic that you can’t believe such a person could exist. Franco’s performance, on the other hand, felt believable. I’ve met people like Laird, and I’ve even done some of the things he does in the movie.

I’ve already let loose some of the movie’s plot points, but here’s the gist: it’s about a rich man in his thirties who falls in love with a woman in her twenties and wants to spend his life pleasing and being with her. This idea doesn’t sit well with her parents, especially since she’s kept his existence from them, fearing they wouldn’t understand her feelings or be able to tolerate him.

Her fears come true when her parents meet Laird, and now he must prove himself worthy of their daughter.

James Franco was always a delight to watch back then before facts about his life was released years after this release, making him go into the shadows and away from the spotlight for some years.

Office Christmas Party (2016)

Office Christmas Party (2016)

4/10

Starring

Jason Bateman

Olivia Munn

T. J. Miller

Jennifer Aniston

Kate McKinnon

Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck

Contains Spoilers

Here’s a movie that makes you want to cry—but not from laughter. Even though it’s meant to be a comedy, filled with talented comics whose job was to make you laugh until you cry, the only tears I shed were tears of disappointment. The movie failed on so many levels to entertain, and made me wish I had something better to do than to see it,

Jennifer Aniston leads the pack of comedians, and even her presence as an overbearing “dick in a skirt” couldn’t save the movie. The plot is all over the place, with too many sub-stories that the writers tried to tie together into a grand ending. The problem is, characters who were barely relevant ended up playing key roles in the finale, tripping over clichés and knocking down anything meaningful in the process.

While the movie was a box office success, almost everything else about it fell flat. The casting felt too silly to make any of the characters memorable, and the plot was too weak to make sense. Even the so-called “magical moment” that kicked off the chaos was completely uneventful.

The story begins when one of the characters accidentally puts cocaine into a snow machine at a party. By sheer coincidence, the man the leads are trying to win over for a business deal happens to walk by the snow machine, gets doused in cocaine, and ends up high.

The plot revolves around Clay Vanstone (T. J. Miller), the rich, spoiled, dumb, and naïve son of a millionaire, who’s running one of his late father’s IT company branches. His sister, Carol Vanstone (Jennifer Aniston), is the head of the company and has decided to shut down Clay’s branch, claiming it’s not making enough money. She even cancels their Christmas party plans to save costs.

Desperate to keep the branch open, Clay lies and says he’s closing a big deal that will bring in enough money to save the branch. Carol agrees to give him a chance, but now Clay, along with his close friends Josh Parker (Jason Bateman) and Tracey Hughes (Olivia Munn), must convince a company’s procurement staff to buy servers from them.

When the deal starts to fall apart, Clay invites the man to their Christmas party, claiming it’ll show how the office runs like a family. From there, the movie dives head first into a parade of clichés, missing no stops along the way.

Sing (2016)

Sing (2016)

6/10

Starring the voice of

Matthew McConaughey

Reese Witherspoon

Seth MacFarlane

Scarlett Johansson

Directed by Garth Jennings

Sing is a fun movie packed with nostalgic moments tied to the songs we all love. Illumination Entertainment has created another masterpiece in my eyes, stepping outside the Despicable Me franchise.

Earlier in the same year, Illumination released The Secret Life of Pets, a movie I didn’t fancy much. I felt it was a step down from their 2015 hit, Minions. However, the financial success of The Secret Life of Pets has already paved the way for a sequel.

While we wait for Despicable Me 3 (2017) and Minions 2 (2022), Sing was a great interval. The movie’s voice casting is exceptional, and the characters are memorable. Illumination did a fantastic job giving each character a backstory that makes you care about their journey.

The animation brings each lead character to life, so you never lose sight of why they’re so devoted to their goals. They’re willing to leave everything else behind just to sing and feel free. That said, the storyline isn’t groundbreaking or particularly eventful. You can pretty much guess your way through the movie as it unfolds, and it feels familiar compared to other musical-based films. The use of anthropomorphic animals adds a colorful and fun twist, showing them managing their daily lives in an exaggerated yet hilarious way.

While the movie’s use of anthropomorphic animals is enjoyable, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Disney’s Oscar-winning Zootopia (2016). Disney set the bar so high with Zootopia—both in terms of critical praise and box office success—that it’ll take a while for any similar film to match it. Sing tries to reach that level but doesn’t quite get there.

The plot focuses on Buster Moon, a koala who owns a theater facing financial ruin. Moon’s attempts to save the theater keep failing until he comes up with the idea of hosting a musical competition. His plan is to offer a $1,000 prize to the winner, but his bumbling secretary accidentally adds two extra zeros, making it $100,000.

By the time Moon realizes the mistake, the competition lines are already around the block. Now, he’s stuck trying to make the competition a success to save his theater—while also figuring out how to come up with the prize money he doesn’t have.

Things get even more complicated as the finalists each bring their own baggage, which could either make or break Moon’s plans.

Sing is a great family movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.