Daddy’s Home was an average Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell comedy that surprisingly made quite a bit of money. On a budget of 69 million dollars, it raked in 242.8 million dollars worldwide, proving that we are all desperate for a laugh.

In case you have trouble recalling the plot — and really, who would blame you? — Daddy’s Home was about two polar opposites who struggle to find common ground. One was a gentle radio exec, Brad (Ferrel), who was trying to connect with his stepchildren Megan (Scarlett Estevez) and Dylan (Owen Wilder Vaccaro), all the while being challenged by the other, Dusty (Wahlberg), who was the kids’ biological father and as masculine as they come.

Billed as a Christmas comedy, Daddy’s Home 2 sees the return of director Sean Anders as well as the original cast, including Linda Cardellini (Sara Whitaker) who played Brad’s wife and Dusty’s ex. Now Brad and Linda have a biological child of their own, adding another dimension to Brad and Dusty’s relationship as co-fathers. What’s more, Dusty and his new wife Karen (Alessandra Ambrosio) also have a child. But wait, there’s more. Entering the picture are Dusty’s father Kurt (Mel Gibson) and Brad’s father Don (John Lithgow) as the grandfathers.

Besides recycling humour from the original, Daddy’s Home 2 is just lazy and dumb

Some scripts are able to handle so many characters but not Daddy’s Home 2. Although it mostly tries to focus on the two fathers and grandfathers, it often gives the feeling that it doesn’t know what to do with them.

Sadly, the shortcomings in the narrative don’t end there. Admittedly, I snickered about a dozen times during the film but more often than not I was left dumbfounded by the sloppy narrative where jokes were regularly set up without payoff. To make matters worse, the most effective humour in Daddy’s Home 2 was recycled from its predecessor.

The most glaring flaw is in the characterisation. The film felt like it was catering to the anti-SJW (social justice warriors) conservative crowd — the sort who have red Trump MAGA hats in their closets. To begin with, it prominently features conservative darling Mel Gibson who, since coming out as one of the few right-wingers in Hollywood, has only taken on roles where he plays a jerk. Here, his character is a super-jerk, and he spends the majority of the film mocking the sensitivity displayed by Brad and Don.

Some scripts are able to handle so many characters but not Daddy’s Home 2. Although it mostly tries to focus on the two fathers and grandfathers, it often gives the feeling that it doesn’t know what to do with them.

There are no punchlines here. Kurt simply belittles the father and son duo, and Daddy’s Home 2 doesn’t even bother shaping these bits into gags. It happens throughout the film and comes across as pointless. This is very different from, say, Robert De Niro’s character in Meet the Parents where the meanness was amusing. What’s more, unlike Dusty in the first film, Kurt doesn’t display genuine growth as a character.

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, crude and suggestive content and language

Published in Dawn, ICON, December 10th, 2017