Daddy’s Home 2 Review
Directed by Sean Anders
If you enjoyed the cheap Yuletide laffs in Daddy’s Home the original, you’ll at least know what you’re in for with its mildly entertaining, studio-based sequel. The previous movie concerned the struggling relationship between ‘Dusty’ (Mark Wahlberg) the macho-man and former husband of ‘Sara’ (Linda Cardellini), and ‘Brad’ (Will Ferrell), the try-hard goofy new husband and stepfather to Dusty’s two children. The beginning of DH2, the two men appear to be quite chummy, and all is assumed to be ludicrously pleasant and peaceful leading up to the Christmas holiday.
The trouble begins when both Dusty and Brad’s own fathers fly in to join them for the festive season celebrations. A very rigid Mel Gibson plays Dusty’s dad ‘Kurt’, who plays a s##t-stirring, dirty-mouthed womanising chauvinist who – we are meant to believe- was an astronaut, clashes with the strikingly different drip, ‘Don’ (John Lithgow) who’s as cringingly lovey-dovey as his son Brad. There are a handful of tried and true gags from the first movie recycled with the new backdrop, plenty of slapstick attempts at comedy (most of which make you wonder how Brad has actually survived to adulthood and been able to Father his own child), abundant amounts of product placement, and a side story of some sort of score-settling between the two wives. Dusty’s wife is a writer and played by the gorgeous Alessandra Ambrosio, but what her character brings to the story line other than looks is anybody’s guess. And so the movie struggles along with the men all chest-thumping and advice-dishing their way to ruining Christmas for everyone, with only one bizarre moment of unification regarding the assumed correct temperature for the thermostat. Go figure.
All in all, a few good laughs were had at this no-thinking-required, ‘Mel Gibson rehabilitated’ Hollywood offering. However, due to some of the themes, it’s personally not a flick I’d be in a hurry to take kids under 12 to see.
6/10
Words by Kimberley Kurmis.
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