James Franco is the best boyfriend from hell in the very, very funny Why Him?

IT’S coming up to Christmas and Ned (Bryan Cranston being more Malcolm In The Middle’s Hal than Breaking Bad’s Heisenberg) is a strait-laced dad coerced into visiting his beloved daughter for the holidays to meet her new fella – something he is not relishing.

The boyfriend is a dotcom billionaire with zero filter, some problematic social skills and a plan to propose to Ned’s daughter.

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So far, so Father of the Bride fodder.

The posters and premise for this film offer it up as some horrific Jennifer Aniston/Adam Sandler hell, but this is a very, very funny film.

Here’s a sentence not typed enough – James Franco is great as boyfriend from hell Laird.

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Produced by Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill, Why Him? is sharp, sweary and packs a well-crafted gag in almost every scene.

It shouldn’t be this good, but I’ll be honest - it really took me by surprise.

This is 111 minutes of unexpected fun.

★★★☆☆