Ned Fleming (Bryan Cranston) runs a printing company in Michigan. He has his loving wife Barb (Megan Mullally) and son Scotty. His daughter Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) is studying in Stanford. During his birthday party, he gets shocking introduction to her boyfriend Laird Mayhew (James Franco). The family goes out to California for Christmas. Laird is actually a video game millionaire. His unfiltered wild ways rub Ned the wrong way. There's also Laird's weird manservant Gustav (Keegan-Michael Key).

Comedy is easy to rate but hard to explain. One simply count up the laughs. In this one, there are a few smirks but no big laughs. I like almost everybody in this although writer/director John Hamburg is not one of the best. He's a middling hit and miss. It's hard to pinpoint the flaws.

The most obvious are Mullally and Cranston. Their persona is way too cool to play an uptight, white-bread, middle America mom and pop. I would have loved Deutch to play opposite her real life mother, Lea Thompson. She can play slightly more conservative. As for Cranston, it's really his role. He should be a gun-toting, bible-quoting Republican. That would give the conflict more meat. Instead, he's a Kiss fan and much too close to Laird. The daughter is right about them being the same character.

Scotty and Gustav annoyed me slightly more than humored me. It's a close call. The Pink Panther bit would work infinitely better if he's attacked by a diminutive China man. The bit should be separated from Gustav and Key could tone down his accent craziness. It's all slightly off which is how I feel about the toilet bit. He should flush before going into the bit. One could almost smell it which distracts from the comedy. Laird crawling into bed with Ned and Barb could be more awkwardly funny if Franco wears a banana hammock. Then there's the ending which kept on going for another fifteen minutes. In general, all the humor is off slightly which keeps this from being great.

The story is by Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller is one of the producers and this is an even more gross version of Meet the Parents but this time the proposed son in law is obnoxious.

Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) is studying at Stanford University and carrying on with her horny, heavily tattooed boyfriend who has sex on the brain. Laird (James Franco) is also a free thinking free wheeling internet tycoon and almost twice her age.

Rightly so her parents Ned (Bryan Cranston) and Barb (Megan Mullally) are shocked by him when they visit them for Christmas. Teenage brother Scotty (Griffin Gluck) is more impressed by the cursing and sexualised Laird who also imparts some business ideals on the wannabe entrepreneur.

Laird wants to marry Stephanie and asks Ned for his permission. Ned is rather taken aback who also has worries about the future of his printing company.

Very little comment is made in the film about Laird's age. A lot of comments are made that Ned was similar to Laird at his age which must had been less than 20 years ago as Laird is heading for 40!

I have to admit this is a rather misogynistic film, there is little attraction between Deutch and Franco and Stephanie is always telling Laird to tone it down a bit. The film is more miss than hit, it does have a few laughs and a predictable ending even down to a rock group cameo.

Ned Fleming (Bryan Cranston),Flanders already taken, works for a failing print company in Michigan. His daughter Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) is at Stanford and has asked the family to come out to California for Christmas to meet her boyfriend Laird, (James Franco) which she has kept mostly secret. Laird owns "Guerrilla Gang" an on line game company. He has money but is generally crude and obscene, lacking a filter. This sets up a cultural clash between dad and the man who wants to marry his daughter.

The situations were over-the-top. Kaley Cuoco was excellent as the cloud voice. While this was not as crude as many of Franco's films, he does show his hind parts. The film had it's funny moments. Cameos include: Richard Blais, Steve Aoki, Elon Musk, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Cedric the Entertainer (not as himself). Smile funny 3 1/2 stars.

Guide: F-word. Sex talk. Franco's butt.