This is more or less a Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner movie for a cruder age. And if you were devoted to Breaking Bad, it’s not too much of a stretch to see it as a Mister White and Jesse rom/com – only with a cuter Jesse. Ned (Brian Cranston) owns a printing business that is going backwards under the onslaught of digital communication. His beautiful daughter Stephane (Zoey Deutch), unbeknown to him, has hooked up with Laird (James Franco), a foul-mouthed wizz-kid who has made g’zillions from creating computer games. So it is old fogey v annoying hipster, with predictable jokes and a foreseeable outcome – and it is unspeakably embarrassing that I enjoyed it so much. A lot has to do with Franco, who is one of the most charming idiots on screen these days, and his combination with the dour Cranston. As Barb, Ned’s missus, Megan Mullally channels Tina Fey to great effect, and if their son Scotty (Griffin Gluck) is hard to take as the teen nerd, Keegan-Michael Key, as Gustav the houseboy, manages to upstage them all in a couple of scenes – the one that involves his entering the bathroom to help Ned cope with the paperless toilet while seated on the ‘throne’ with his pants down is hilarious. Overall, it’s a typical example of an enjoyable but run-of-the-mill flick that almost shoots itself in the foot with an early overindulgence in gross language and crass behaviour. It is as though director John Hamburg has the preconception that his audience is only capable of appreciating humour that is peppered with fuck and set-ups that allude to nothing more intelligent than bodily functions. Surprise surprise – with a well written and neatly observed story that is enhanced by a cast who knows exactly how to work their lines and grow their characters, the needless vulgarity subsides and a clever farce emerges. And for Kiss tragics, the appearance of Gene and Paul in stage drag is an absolute hoot.
