Movie Review: Daddy's Home


The trailer for Daddy's Home looked like it could be funny, but I worried it might be one of those times where all the laughs in a movie are all in the trailer. Although this was not entirely the case here, most of the time I was waiting for the laughs to begin, even though a few of the scenes in this film were hilarious.

Brad (Will Ferrell) marries Sarah (Linda Cardellini) and becomes a stepdad to her two young children. The kids resent him at first, probably because they miss their real dad, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), but after almost a year, Brad is finally starting to fit in with the family. That is, until the kids' biological dad (Dusty) decides to come home for a visit - and he wants to win back the hearts of both the kids and Sarah, essentially knocking Brad off the pedestal he's worked so hard to attain.

Some of Will Ferrell's movies are hilarious, and some are not so great - same for Wahlberg's, though I haven't seen him in a comedy in a while now, not counting the Ted movies, which are not my favorites. Thomas Haden Church also has a supporting role, as Ferrell's boss at the smooth jazz radio station where he works (which totally made me think of Smooth Jazz v98.7 ... anyone remember that station in Detroit?), and he is good in his role. This movie had some talented actors in it, but the script fell flat most of the time for me, except for a few hilarious scenes that made me think the film could have been much better than it actually turned out to be.

Maybe see this movie. I was contemplating a "No" rating for the first half, but the second half was much better than the first, with some cute moments at the end, too. I wouldn't pay full-price for this film but it would be okay to see at a matinee if you have some time one day. I will say it's not that appropriate for children, despite the PG-13 rating, though a lot of the jokes were allusions rather than straight-out raunchiness - ie, in one scene, Wahlberg's character was telling his kids a bedtime story, about a king and a step-king, and the step-king was jealous of the king's "sword" (figure it out ...). This movie wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be, and it did entertain me for it's hour and a half runtime, but overall it was time I could have spent watching a more memorable or enjoyable film.

Daddy's Home is currently playing in theaters, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 96 minutes. 2.5 stars out of 5.

Popular Posts

Review: Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins

Upcoming and GIVEAWAY: Mamma Mia! at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit, April 23-28 {ends Dec. 12}

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Allegiant Nonstop game center (Warren, MI) is fun for the whole family