STARRING: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Hannibal Buress and Thomas Haden Church
DIRECTOR: Sean Anders
RELEASE DATE: December 25, 2015
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have teamed up yet again in the quaint comedy entitled Daddy’s Home. This is the first team up for the two since their movie The Other Guys in 2010. Both actors have tremendous chemistry together and it shows on film. To date, Daddy’s Home has earned well over $150 million dollars so it looks as though Hollywood is chomping at the bit to make a sequel to this box office smash.
The film begins with Brad (Will Ferrell) trying to adapt to his new position as a husband and a step dad. His new step children Megan (Scarlett Estevez) and Dillon (Oscar Vaccaro) are somewhat reluctant to accept Brad as their new step dad as with most storylines in a film such as this. The comedy ensues when Brad’s new wife Sara’s (Linda Cardellini) ex husband and father of Megan and Dillon, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) enters the scene. Sara, being married to Brad for only eight months, attempts to make the best out of an awkward situation but fails in her attempts.
Dusty’s plan from the beginning was to come into the household and cause chaos, which he does. He attempts to expose Brad as weak and unfit to raise his children and hopes Sara will see all of Brad’s flaws. Seeing what Dusty is doing, Brad goes to work (he’s an executive for a soft jazz radio station) and expresses his concerns about his wife’s ex husband to his boss Leo (Thomas Haden Church) who has a hilarious story for every situation. Becoming more frustrated with Dusty’s shenanigans, Brad decides to play Dusty’s game by attempting to buy the children’s love with expensive gifts and lucrative outings.
Due to an accident that happened to Brad at the dentist’s office three years prior to him meeting Sara he is unable to have children (or so he thought) so Dusty suggests he go see a fertility specialist named Dr. Francisco (Bobby Cannavale) who steals the show. This is by far the funniest scene in the movie. Unfortunately for Dusty, Dr. Francisco tells Brad that he is capable of having children with Sara which means Dusty’s maniacal plan to discredit Brad may be coming to an end.
The movie somewhat trails off at this juncture until the family, which all of a sudden consists of Dusty now, goes to a Los Angeles Laker’s game. There, Brad gets embarrassingly drunk and at this point Sara has taken all that she can take of Brad and Dusty’s attempts of being the Alpha male of the family so she asks Brad to leave and kicks Dusty out of the home. Seeing an opportunity to get his family back together Dusty tells Sara he’s a changed man and that he’s willing to step up as a father figure to his children. This couldn’t be anything farther from the truth.
Daddy’s Home has a recognizable plot that has been done numerous times in numerous movies but the relationship between Ferrell and Wahlberg is undeniable. Everything from the precocious kids to the cantankerous boss made the movie that much more enjoyable for the viewer. Daddy’s Home receives six stars out of ten stars.