Originally published December 25, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
Daddy’s Home, 2015
Directed by Sean Anders
Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Hannibal Buress, Scarlett Estevez, Owen Vaccaro and Thomas Haden Church
SYNOPSIS:
A mild-mannered radio executive strives to become the best stepdad to his wife’s two children, but complications ensue when their freewheeling and freeloading real father arrives, forcing him to compete for the affection of the kids.
Anyone hoping for a raucous laugh-riot in the vein of The Other Guys (arguably Will Ferrell’s last great comedy) will be feeling disappointed that Santa hasn’t brought them quite what they wanted. The promise of his reunion with co-star Mark Wahlberg sent many mouths salivating, such was there chemistry in 2010’s hit. A “round two” was inevitable but does Daddy’s Home deliver Christmas cheer or will you be saying “Bah Humbug”?
Daddy’s Home plays up the family motifs rather than the potential “father-off” that the film’s promotional materials would suggest, which is all splendid and timely at this time of year but you can’t help feeling throughout the short runtime that this is a golden opportunity missed. Yes, there is some tension between the two as they wrestle for the role of true alpha male, but for the most part it rarely gets past a few Ferrell screams or some Wahlberg “look at my abs” moments than some true fisticuffs.
This is more about the message of family and the strong bonds we carry with whatever family we share, such is the time of year, but the whole deliver is slapdash and never raises a smile nor indeed anything that will stick once the film is over. A broader, bawdier comedy about the same subject with the lead duo fighting it out (metaphorically or not) would surely have made more of an impact, both in terms of comedy and its appeal, but we will just have to continue our wait for that one.
Director and co-writer Anders, who most recently delivered the woeful Horrible Bosses 2, again fails to deliver any meaningful contribution here: his direction is insipid and cumbersome, never injecting the kind of energy that would make the film sparkle and many of the film’s messages about family and the difficulties of fatherhood just don’t hit home. Ferrell can do the nice guy turned crazy routine in his sleep, and while he is given a little more weight than normal, he struggles to with the lacklustre material. Wahlberg too is left horrible exposed in an awfully unlikeable role as “real Dad” Dusty: as with Ferrell, he really struggles despite a few decent moments.
True laughs are at real premium with those that hit coming towards the end of the film, too little too late to really save the day that is crying out for a spark, something unexpected to lift it from its dour stumper. There are flashes mind you, most dished up with rambunctiously good jaunts of the ever underused Thomas Haden Church, and we do get a typically manic Ferrell moment, but its all too little, too late.
Saved (just barely) by the final third that cranks out the laughs, Daddy’s Home is as frustrating a comedy as Dumb and Dumber To was last year: so much potential, very little reward. It’s messages of family bonds and more uplifting beats will undoubtedly hit the right notes for many over the festive season, but it never quite reaches the heights it sorely hopes to reach. Now, about The Other Guys 2…
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Scott J. Davis is Senior Staff Writer at Flickering Myth and co-host of The Flickering Myth Review Podcast. Follow him on Twitter
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