DADDY’S HOME 2: Full On Sappy, Empty On Charm
The sequel, and third time comedic pairing of Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, Daddy’s Home 2 takes the unlikely co-dad story and brings it home for the holidays. In Daddy’s Home we watched reserved stepfather Brad (Ferrell) compete with the outgoing birth father Dusty (Wahlberg) for the children’s attention. A sort of competition arose between them, trying to outdo one another at every turn. Eventually they found a mutual respect and formed a bond.
The film worked (mostly) in part because of their chemistry, which makes one forget its shortcomings. In this film their daughter pronounces her distaste for separate Christmases, so the two decide to join for a holiday together. Their plans are amplified when their own dads (Mel Gibson and John Lithgow) come for a visit. The group ventures to a winter getaway, trapping the posse for a week away from home.
Like Father, Like Son
Kurt, Gibson (“El Padre”), virile and domineering, has a strained relationship with his son Dusty. He enjoys prodding the two leads, angling to bring their harboring disagreements to the surface, sometimes with violent aspirations. Gibson’s comedic turn is lackluster, but we are reminded that he has the capacity for it. Here, his character’s predictable macho behavior leaves much to be desired.
Don, Lithgow (“Pop Pop”), gentle and friendly, is a bright light to El Padre’s cynical nature. Ferrell and he share a more loving, and overly affectionate bond. He’s the talkative and upbeat older version of Brad, and he’s the sweetheart this film needs. The two older fathers, on complete opposite ends of the parenting spectrum, share plenty of banter but none of it quite as enthralling as they are capable of. They each have their own style and bring their own drama too.
Ferrell’s wife Sara (Linda Cardellini) has a streak of envy towards Dusty’s new wife Karen (Alessandra Ambrosio), the shoplifter who is basically-a-supermodel (and also a writer?) We barely get a story here, and it feels too much like filler. The two women are rarely recognized within this film, and while this is about daddies, I still wish they had given them something to do.
John Cena, Karen’s first husband, comes in near the end just as Dusty and Brad’s adversarial kinship reaches its boiling point. He’s unnecessary here, with little to no significance to the story, and yet he’s one of the funnier additions.
The Unfortunate Truth
Even the children here are underwhelming. There is a subplot about Dylan (Owen Vaccaro) whose crush spurs the dad’s “girl talk”, and another about Megan (Scarlett Estevez) and her hunting trip that goes afoul. More often than not, Daddy’s Home 2 forces traditions and comic skits that just aren’t believable.
There is the Christmas “break up” with everyone driving home, tails between their legs until a snowstorm forces them together once again. One of the final sequences revolves around the group engaging in song, and at that point it feels as if they are grasping for straws.
Ferrell seems to fill more scenes than Wahlberg, who at times is just lost here. In fact, none of the roles are particularly likable. Daddy’s Home 2 has a lot going on at once, with a large cast and too many personalities. It feels suffocated at times, and some of the direction could have used some more air. What’s leftover is diluted and at times downright dull.
The funniest moment for me came from a scene in the middle of the night when Rusty’s stepdaughter Adrianna (Didi Costine) turns the thermostat up. As fathers so often do (I know mine did) the four are all outraged by this and the “madness” of the temperature brings some hilarious reactions.
Conclusion: Daddy’s Home 2
There is still chemistry here, a handful of laughs and a lesson on acceptance and holiday togetherness that isn’t completely lost. With its meager hour and thirty-eight minute run time, I can’t decide if it’s too much in too little, or too little of too much.
It wishes to be a Christmas classic, but the heavy-handed feel good moments mostly miss their mark. The heart of the film is lost by formulaic tendencies and its overbearing insistence on being funny. Daddy’s Home 2 relies too much on physical comedy, with scenes akin to National Lampoon‘s Christmas Vacation but without the charm and ease of Chevy Chase.
Hokey music overshadows the dialogue written by Sean Anders and John Morris (XIX) which is toned down for the benefit of appealing to younger audiences. Directed by Sean Anders, Daddy’s Home 2 takes a talented cast and makes a subpar sequel. For a movie like this, with such heavy hitters, it’s just not very fun.
Ho-Ho-No.
Do you agree? Did you think Daddy’s Home 2 was better or worse than the original?
Daddy’s Home 2 was released in the US on November 10th, and will be in the UK on November 22nd.
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