Daddy’s Home
Dustin Chase
Screenwriter of Dumb & Dumber To, Horrible Bosses 2, and Mr. Poppers Penguins is the director behind the latest Will Ferrell comedy Daddy’s Home. You almost want to give Sean Anders applause for working on a film without a 2 in the title until you realize Daddy’s Home might as well be a sequel, because Ferrell is playing the same character he has played dozens of times. This comedy is set up basically the same as Get Hard (only it’s barely a PG-13) with Ferrell competing with someone opposite him, instead of Kevin Hart, it’s Mark Wahlberg. Also like Get Hard the racial jokes, bad influence on kids, all the same beats you can practically set your watch with.
For years now Brad (Ferrell) has become the male role model for his wife Sarah’s children. He reads all the stepdad books, takes care of lunches, understands the drop off schedule at school, and provides a positive learning environment. That all changes when their biological father Dusty (Wahlberg) returns. Dusty being a master manipulator takes advantage of Brad’s kind nature, inviting himself into their home where the two men begin challenging each other, muscle versus dependability. The household quickly becomes a hostile place with Sarah (Cardellini) losing her patience with both men.
Like Get Hard the racial jokes, bad influence on kids, all the same beats you can practically set your watch with.
The script for Daddy’s Home doesn’t really move, it jumps from Brad crashing Duty’s motorcycle through the house to the two fathers at Brad’s work place, competition after competition with Ferrell of course at the butt of all the jokes. If you know Will Ferrell films you know all this fighting over the children’s affections will end with the two becoming friends… why do you know that, because that’s the ending of every single Ferrell film. “You can’t build a tree house with a tampon,” Duty says after taking a look at Brad’s tool box. Of course the tree house and skate ramp are just more excuses for the two men to challenge each other.
There is an entire scene devoted to Brad, Dusty and Sarah not only encouraging the youngest son to fight at school, but showing him how. By the time Brad reaches his tolerance point with Dusty, audience members not conditioned for an automatic laugh will have reached theirs. To no surprise Sarah and the few other female characters are presented as stupid, obedient, and easily manipulated by all the men. Thomas Hayden Church just keeps telling stories about women he has discarded over the years. Daddy’s Home is intended for the lowest common denominator and never blinks to think viewers buying a ticket might call fowl over the same jokes and stunts.
Final Thought
Characters names are different, but everything else is the same.