The sequel to the 2015 family comedy Daddy’s Home, Daddy’s Home 2 is a silly family-friendly comedy that is at times entertaining as a result of the dynamics between the talented actors but is a rather stale comedy blockbuster that is not always funny. Taking place several years after the shenanigans of the original, the manly Dusty, played by Mark Wahlberg, and the sensitive family man Brad, played by Will Ferrell, are on good terms co-parenting Dusty’s kids Megan and Dylan who live most of the time with their mother Sara, played by Linda Cardellini, who is now married to Brad. Things once again get complicated when Dusty’s macho father Kurt, played by Mel Gibson, and Brad’s kind and emotional father Don, played by John Lithgow, arrive in town for a joint Christmas between the families. Very much like the first movie, the grandfathers become competitors for who is the better parent and grandparent and thereby indulge their sons and grandchildren in order to favor love and make the other jealous. Stereotypical buffoonery and slapstick hijinks rapidly escalates, especially after Kurt comes up with the idea of celebrating Christmas in a luxurious cabin in the mountains. Along the way, we meet new characters, including Brad and Sara’s baby, Dusty’s new attractive wife Karen, Karen’s daughter Adrianna who Dusty tries to impress, and eventually Adrianna’s hunky father Roger, played by pro wrestler John Cena. With brief moments of laughter and even touching family moments mixed with a holidays theme, the film is your typical family Christmas movie that helps pass the time with family audiences during the holiday season. However, going into the movie I was not expecting what turned out to be a Christmas flick and actually thought that it was too early to release such a movie with Christmas a month and a half away. Overall, I found it to be a somewhat enjoyable and light-hearted comedy that could have been better if the all star cast was not wasted on such a frivolous and ridiculous premise: at least, the first film had some originality because the sequel feels like the filmmaker simply rehashed the original plot with only slight modifications.
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