Daddy's Home 2: Mehr Väter, mehr Probleme! (2017)

Daddy’s Home 2: Mehr Väter, mehr Probleme!: Directed by Sean Anders. With Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, John Lithgow. Having finally gotten used to each other’s existence, Brad and Dusty must now deal with their intrusive fathers during the holidays.

“Comedy and tragedy have always gone together hand-in-hand. Every great comedy tends to have its bitter-sweet moments: Roberts Blossom as the u0026quot;shovel-killeru0026quot; grandad in u0026quot;Home Aloneu0026quot; (who always reminds me of my late Dad… in appearance I might add, not that he was a shovel killer!); John Candyu0026#39;s depressed shower-ring salesman in u0026quot;Planes Trains and Automobilesu0026quot;; Ron Burgundy bawling in a phone box in u0026quot;Anchormanu0026quot;. The balance between the two is the key thing and comedies can sometimes get it wrong (the Bird Woman in u0026quot;Home Alone 2u0026quot; for example!).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHere is another case in point: u0026quot;Daddyu0026#39;s Home 2u0026quot;, which has some laugh-out-loud comedy moments, but is generally so utterly drenched in schmaltz and sentimentality that the film becomes far harder work than it should be. (By the way, I never saw u0026quot;Daddyu0026#39;s Homeu0026quot; (but read the IMDB synopsys): it was not a prerequisite for seeing this movie).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWill Ferrell (u0026quot;Get Hardu0026quot;, u0026quot;Anchormanu0026quot;) reprises his role as the somewhat incompetent Brad, u0026#39;sharingu0026#39; his family of kids and stepkids with the much more streetwise Dusty (Mark Wahlberg, u0026quot;Patriotu0026#39;s Dayu0026quot;). After a poignant school recital, the pair realise the damage that a distributed Christmas is doing to their offspring and they determine to spend Christmas all together this year. In the process they vow to try to put aside their attempts at one-upmanship – u0026quot;the harbour is closedu0026quot; – in the interests of giving everyone the best Christmas ever.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut their plans are turned upside down when their fathers also turn up for Christmas: Mel Gibson (in a sublime piece of casting) plays Dustyu0026#39;s dad, astronaut-hero Kurt, who is even more macho and extreme than Dusty, and John Lithgow (u0026quot;Miss Sloaneu0026quot;; u0026quot;The Accountantu0026quot;) plays Bradu0026#39;s airy-fairy father Don… the apple has not fallen far from the tree there. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKurt forces the family to u0026#39;fightu0026#39; Christmas on a neutral turf by renting a palatial AirBnB in a snowy wilderness. Tensions rise between the diverse individuals until a breaking point is inevitably reached.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are some great farcical sight-gags in this movie. Quite a few of the funniest ones are spoiled by the trailer, but there are still a few standout routines that made me guffaw. A hi-tech shower is predictable but funny; and Bradu0026#39;s use of a snowblower to apocalyptic ends is the funniest scene in the movie. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWahlberg and Ferrell are a trustworthy double act (after their initial surprise pairing in u0026quot;The Other Guysu0026quot;). Gibson and Lithgow also inhabit their roles perfectly, although it was hard of me to relate to either of them. The scene on the airport escalator as they arrive is very well done.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe supporting cast all play their parts well: ERu0026#39;s Linda Cardellini as Bradu0026#39;s wife and Dustyu0026#39;s ex-wife; Brazilian model and actress Alessandra Ambrosio, as Dustyu0026#39;s (almost unbelievably good-looking) new wife Karen; and WWE star John Cena as Karenu0026#39;s ex-husband. (Doesnu0026#39;t ANYONE stay married in the US any more?). The kid stars – Didi Costine, Scarlett Estevez and Owen Vaccaro – are also good, with Estevez being particularly appealing. Watch out for a funny cameo in the final scene as well, which I found very amusing (u0026quot;You only have one storyu0026quot; … LoL).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat drowns out the comedy though is the sentimental storyline around a personal tragedy being lived out by one of the family. The angst and nasty back-biting that surrounds this I found neither funny nor pleasant. The story builds to a snow-bound cinema (showing u0026quot;Missile Towu0026quot; starring Liam Neeson… a great u0026quot;pointless answeru0026quot; for the BBCu0026#39;s u0026quot;Pointlessu0026quot; quiz!) and a finale song that is just so over the top that it has both an u0026quot;awwwu0026quot; factor and is bile-inducing all at the same time. The screenplay is by Sean Anders and John Morris, with Anders also directing. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWill Ferrell films can be like a game of Russian Roulette, and I fully expected this to be truly awful. It wasnu0026#39;t, and as a Christmas comedy it is an OK watch… and thankfully significantly above u0026quot;Jingle all the Wayu0026quot;!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(For the graphical review, please visit bob-the-movie-man.com or One Mannu0026#39;s Movies on Facebook. Thanks).”