Daddy's Home

Daddy's Home

Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church

Directed by Sean Anders

The Story:
Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) is a doting step-dad to his wife Sara's (Linda Cardellini) children.  He's extremely straight-laced, by-the-book, and positively bland.  His stepchildren don't much care for him, and when they receive a call from their father Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), they're over the moon.  Brad decides to allow Dusty to stay with them, and when he arrives Brad finds that he's the total opposite - he drives a motorcycle, works out vigorously, doesn't live by the rules, and is exciting and fun.  The two men embark on a battle of dads to gain the love of the children, doing everything from lavish gifts, skate parks, pets, and NBA playoff tickets in order to gain supremacy. 

The Synopsis:
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg teamed up in 2010's "The Other Guys" with modest success, and showed that the two could work well together and feed off one another with great comedic timing.  So when they joined again for "Daddy's Home," it seemed like a no-brainer that they would once again bring their specific brand of comedy.

Unfortunately, lighting didn't strike twice.

Maybe it was because "The Other Guys" had the two working together, while in "Daddy's Home" they were enemies, or maybe it was just the overall bland story being told, but the laughs were few and far between in this tale, that seemed to be more mean spirited and crude than actually funny.

The movie is your predictable Will Ferrell comedy, set so perfectly you can predict what is coming way before the actors do.  Ferrell plays his one-note character (the lovable, nerdy, kind-hearted wimp) so monotonous that you forget he's even on the screen.  Except for the fact that he exudes his performance so over-the-top you can't miss it, no matter how much you want to.  It's like watching a play, where you're supposed to overact so everyone in the huge theater can see and hear what you're doing.  However, this isn't a play, and Ferrell overdoes it so much it becomes annoying after the first ten minutes.

Mark Wahlberg in tandem also goes overboard with his performance as the cool dad, the reformed bad boy who's still got a lot of growing up to do.  He plays the stock character of the dad perfectly, while Ferrell plays the stock character of the stepdad to a T.  Other films that highlight such a diatribe include "Liar Liar" and "San Andreas" (seriously, watch them and see how they stereotype the father/stepfather characters), and "Daddy's Home" is no exception.  Neither is the ending, which you sat around patiently for to arrive.  That, too, is a typical Hollywood ending with all loose ends wrapped up.

Ironically, the main "villain" in the movie isn't Wahlberg, but Linda Cardellini's character.  As Brad's current wife, and Dusty's ex, Sara exists more as fodder for the two men, and she doesn't really give a commanding performance.  Instead, she sides with whichever man seems to be on top at the time, giving Brad a particularly hard time.  Throw in two whiny, mean, self-absorbed stepchildren, and if I was Brad I would've been out way before any of this began.

The tiny glimmer of what the film could've been actually came from two of the supporting characters.  As Brad's boss, Thomas Haden Church's Leo Holt brings the few laughs in the film as he tries to support Brad by telling him pointless crude stories from his past conquests, which also gives Ferrell his best springboard.  If it was a story about the two of them, it would've been a laugh riot.  The other performance comes from Griff (Hannibal Buress), a construction worker that Dusty brings into the home as Brad's unwanted guest.  He gives out great one-liners, and once again if he was in a more leading role, the movie would've been more funny.

It's sad when the movie's two supporting cast members are more valued than the two leads.  Yet that's what "Daddy's Home" offered.

The Summary:
"Daddy's Home" is your typical bland comedy with throwaway jokes, needless cruelty and a waste of talent from the two leads.

The Score: B