Will Ferrell was in Anchorman, Elf and The LEGO Movie. Mark Wahlberg was in Boogie Nights, The Departed and The Fighter. I’m just reminding you that not every film these two do are bad.
It’s just a shame that their latest venture, Daddy’s Home 2, is just all too meh. Like, don’t get me wrong; there’s no race crimes or animal abuse, so that’s a good thing, surely? Just, at the same time, this comedy really isn’t all that comedic. The characters seem pretty thinly written, and it would’ve easily sufficed as an SNL short, with Edward Norton playing the little boy.
Now, doesn’t that sound funnier than a movie that reportedly cost £49,290,840 to make? I. Know. You. Didn’t. Read. That. Wrong.
Following from its predecessor – you guessed it; Daddy’s Home – Brad Whitaker (Ferrell) and Dusty Mayron (Wahlberg) have come together to give their children a joint Christmas, which involves inviting their fathers, the ultra-manly (and probably ultra-misogynistic) Mel Gibson, and the affectionate John Lithgow. If you were interested in the movie and saw the trailer, you’ll have noted the moment when we’re greeted to their characters at the airport.
John Lithgow was very cuddly to his son, while Mel Gibson could woo any lady he wanted. It was probably all of that “sugar tits” talk of his. Take me now, Mel.
Now, imagine that gag stretched across a 90-minute runtime. That’s it. John says silly things, like “tinkle”, and Mel is (apparently) a playboy. It’s just a shame that Mel is probably the second least likeable person in Hollywood. (You can thank Harvey Weinstein for that one, Mel.) Every time someone fails, you can expect Mel peel back his leathery skin to reveal a chuckle, like a cross between the Cheshire Cat and an arson attack at Madame Tussauds. You see; he’s a bad-ass, and therefore finds it funny when his grandchildren fail in life. This comedy malarkey is easy.
While Mel seems to find these moments funny, there’s a strong chance he’s the only one. There were very few moments that made me smile, as most of the jokes were either hugely predictable or written for a child. Probably one that just came from the womb.
And I love movies. I’d be in quite the dilemma creating my own movie-based site if I wasn’t keen on them. But I couldn’t even make it through the entirety of Daddy’s Home 2. I gave up on it. Twice. Aside from Mel Gibson taking a big, steamy, wrinkly, fake-tanned, anti-semitic dump all over the movie, it’s also home to a whole bunch of awkward sentimentality that grows tiresome. Who in their right-mind is watching a Will Ferrell movie in the hope of getting a message about holding your family close and telling them you love them? We want to see him punch a dolphin or something.
In short, a lot of the comedy in Daddy’s Home 2 is tired and obvious from the beginning; it won’t really appeal to someone who’s, say, read a book. Plus, it features Mel Gibson, so even if it was Sideways, I’d still knock off two stars. But then again, at least it wasn’t as bad as the female-festive counterpart, A Bad Moms Christmas. Why are sequels so insistent on ruining good actors’ (and Mel Gibson’s) careers?