Daddy’s Home 2: Movie Review

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The entire main cast of Daddy’s Home 2 poses for a picture. From left to right: Mel Gibson, Alessandra Ambrosio, Mark Wahlberg, Didi Costine, Linda Cardellini, Owen Vaccaro, Will Ferrell, Scarlett Estevez, John Lithgow, and John Cena. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Daddy’s Home 2 is the sequel to the 2015 film Daddy’s Home. Starring Will Ferrell as Brad Whitaker and Mark Wahlberg as Dusty Mayron, the iconic duo once again proved their comedic chemistry on screen.

The now united “co-dads” Brad and Dusty are trying hard to give their blended families the best Christmas ever, but things get complicated when both Dusty’s father Kurt and Brad’s father Don come to town. Kurt Mayron, played by Mel Gibson, is the personified old school macho man who has remained absent from Dusty’s life for many years. Don Whitaker, played by John Lithgow, is the polar opposite–a soft and loving father. Tensions rise as both families are forced to spend the holiday in close quarters; the entire group will be staying in a vacation home for the week leading up to Christmas. Conflicting personalities and iron wills clash, all while trying to secure the perfect Christmas.

Daddy’s Home 2 was released on November 10 in most U.S. theaters. The film received a 6.2 on IMDb and a bombing 17% on the notorious review site “Rotten Tomatoes.” Despite these relatively low critic reviews, Daddy’s Home 2 managed to get a respectably high 86% viewer approval rating. These contradictory statistics clearly outline the fine line between the film’s “quality” (which critics review) and its “entertainment value” (which the average person reviews).

“December may not have arrived yet but, based on Daddy’s Home 2, ‘tis also the season for dysfunctional families.  The trouble is, once you’ve seen one festive movie on the subject, you’ve seen them all,” said Freeda Cooper, a movie critic for “flickeringmyth.com”. The general consensus among movie critics is that Daddy’s Home 2 fails to set itself apart from every other “dysfunctional family holiday sequel.” As a result, we get misguided slapstick humor and over the top cliches that were done better in movies such as “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” all the way back in 1989.

From a viewer’s point of view, I found Daddy’s Home 2 to be witty and entertaining–despite its predictability at times. The producers took a crack at the classic family holiday style, and were able to put their own unique spin on it that made it feel unique. Sure it was a celebrity toting cash grab, but the humor was fresh, the characters were enthralling, and the emotion felt genuine. The slapstick was exactly what you’d expect, but it was slightly more on the mark than the original.

In summary, Daddy’s Home 2 is nothing overly exciting but an entertaining film nonetheless. With heavily varying reviews between critics and the average viewer, this is definitely a film worth watching if for no other reason than to form your own opinion or kill a few hours. The final verdict on Daddy’s Home 2 is not yet out, and its box office success is still yet to be determined.

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