Ferrell and Wahlberg go through the motions in this “dad vs. step-dad” comedy.
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg hope to strike lightning twice in their new comedy Daddy’s Home, coming off their well-received buddy cop movie The Other Guys. Alas, they don’t have Adam McKay directing this time around, and are instead paired with Sean Anders (That’s My Boy, Horrible Bosses 2). The result is a surprisingly tame outing that never takes full advantage of the stars’ talents.
Daddy’s Home follows mild-mannered radio executive Brad (Ferrell), who’s struggling to connect with his two new step-kids after marrying his wife Sarah (played by Freaks and Geeks’ Linda Cardellini). But just as Brad starts to find his groove as a father figure, the kids’ real dad, Dusty (Wahlberg), comes to visit with his sights set on winning back his family. And, as you probably guessed, wackiness ensues.
We want to hear it.
With a movie like this, logic and normal human behavior usually take a back seat to the shenanigans. Unfortunately, Daddy’s Home has close to none of these things. The premise alone is a joke, as Dusty weasels his way into staying at Brad and Sarah’s house indefinitely. Meanwhile, the humor coasts on a flat line of passable banter and obvious sight gags, with very little heart to it.
As Brad, Ferrell plays the sensitive straight man to Wahlberg’s unruly alpha male, which comes off about as safe as it sounds. Both stars play well off each other, but their characters are painfully predictable. For example, when Dusty comes riding into town on a big Indian motorcycle, Brad tries to prove his manliness by riding the bike himself… with obviously disastrous results. Another time, Dusty impresses his kids by doing some tricks on a halfpipe he built them, and Brad tries to do the same… with obviously disastrous results. And it goes on like that for about 96 minutes, complete with CGI bravado. Of course, it never gets too crazy since the movie is rated PG-13.
As for the rest of the ensemble, it’s a mixed bag. Cardellini’s character changes drastically to suit the story’s needs, and she hardly gets her own say in between Brad and Dusty’s constant chest-beating. There’s also a bizarre, completely random subplot featuring comedian Hannibal Burress, who plays a repairman that moves in with the family because Dusty invited him. Honestly, the only side character that even slightly works is Brad’s sleazy boss Leo (Thomas Haden Church), who torments Brad with irrelevant stories from his past.
We want to hear it.
Daddy’s Home isn’t outright bad, but once you’ve seen Ferrell drunkenly throw a basketball at a cheerleader’s face, you’ve already reached the height of its outrageous comedy. Granted, there are a few good belly laughs to come out of the stars’ antics, but they’re few and far between. What’s left are simpers and groaners.
Daddy’s Home is your typical case of “all the best parts are in the trailer.” While the movie stars two funny leads, the story wreaks of Hollywood convention, and the jokes are average at best. Usually, it just feels like the writers are waiting for Ferrell and Wahlberg to spin straw into gold — which sometimes they do, but not nearly enough to make the movie good. In the end, Daddy’s Home is a far cry from Ferrell and Wahlberg’s last team-up in The Other Guys.
