Blu-ray Review: Mel Gibson & John Lithgow Show Mark Wahlberg & Will Ferrell Tough Love In DADDY’S HOME 2
Daddy’s Home 2 is a fun festive family comedy that ticks all the boxes and delivers what you would expect from this type of film – but sadly it didn’t live up to the promise of having such an impressive cast. This could have been a classic, instead it’s just a throwaway comedy with a few good yuks and performances. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I was hoping for more!
Following on from the hijinks of the original Daddy’s Home, Rusty and Brad (Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell) are now happily co-parentIng their stepkids when a huge spanner is thrown into the works with the arrival of their respective dads: Mel Gibson and John Lithgow. It’s a case of like father like son, as Gibson’s alpha male and Lithgow’s touch-feely dad once again cause competition between the two sides of the family. There sure as hell won’t be peace on earth once these two clans get together for Christmas.
Comedy sequels are tough to get right because the humour that worked first time around was inherent to that film’s plot and the lessons learned by the characters needs to be reset to replicate the magic for the sequel. Daddy’s Home 2 tries to side-step this by adding the extra daddy factor and while it gives it an additional boost, the filmmakers are still breaking apart the finale of the last movie in order to build the plot for the new one.
Wahlberg and Ferrell at this point have their chemistry down to a T and the new additions to the cast also seem to enjoy themselves, riffing on their established reputations and past roles. Gibson in particular seems to relish his lady-killing character, which is a nice spin on the role he played in 2000’s What Women Want. It’s great seeing the Lethal Weapon star back onscreen in a mainstream feature, flexing his comedic chops. Lithgow is also great, throwing himself into the role of the hapless stooge with abandon. The game cast ensure that the audience is going to have a good time.
It’s far from perfect, but I can see myself watching Daddy’s Home 2 again at Christmas. I’ve seen comedies which are a lot worse, but the charisma of the cast adds an extra star to this review.
Special Features
You get the usual short behind-the-scenes bits and pieces, deleted scenes and a gag real. Solid rather than spectacular – much like the film itself.
