Daddy’s Home

29 Replies

One of the things that made Will Ferrell so great on Saturday Night Live was his versatility. For every out-there cheerleader, there was a guy who drove a Dodge Stratus (for the record, the Dodge Stratus guy is one of my all-time favourites, the cheerleaders, not so much). But even the Dodge Stratus guy ended up being over-the-top, you just didn’t know it at first. The one thing we never really saw was low-key Will Ferrell.

His movie roles continued that trend with only one or two exceptions (like Stranger than Fiction and judging from the trailer, Bewitched). Of course, with those low-key movies being flops, in almost everything else we have gotten from Ferrell he’s a cartoon (Anchorman, Zoolander, Blades of Glory), a cliche (Get Hard, The Other Guys, A Deadly Adoption), or both (Semi-Pro, Talladega Nights).  And more often than not, those movies have disappointed.

With all that in mind, and especially in light of the awfulness that was Get Hard, my expectations for Daddy’s Home could not have been lower, because a half-assed Will Ferrell riff on a loser step-dad is one of the least-funny characters I could picture.

But you know what?  Will Ferrell’s step-dad in Daddy’s Home isn’t a cartoon or a cliche.  Maybe he’s a bit of a loser but he’s also a sweet and genuine guy that is loved by everyone around him (even his step-kids are warming up to him).  And then the kids’ sleazy, deadbeat biological dad (Mark Wahlberg) appears and throws everything into chaos.

For the first time in years, we finally get something fresh from Ferrell.  He is clearly using his whole ass in Daddy’s Home and it’s glorious.  With Ferrell bringing his A-game, everyone else steps up as well.  Mark Wahlberg plays (or is?) a fantastic charming asshole, and I also thoroughly enjoyed Thomas Haden Church as Ferrell’s boss and Hannibal Burress as Ferrell’s contractor/unwanted houseguest.

Daddy’s Home deserves praise as well for a script that avoids the easy way out and sets up something greater.  It is wonderful to see jokes come together the way they do in Daddy’s Home.  A perfect example is the daddy-daughter dance sequence, which has to be seen to be believed.  It’s set up so well that in hindsight it’s obvious but I didn’t see it coming until it happened.  Daddy’s Home delivers these types of scenes again and again, right until the credits roll, and will keep you laughing the whole time.

Daddy’s Home gets a score of nine long and shiny broadswords out of ten.  Be sure to catch it when it opens on December 25.

 

 

29 thoughts on “Daddy’s Home”

  2. Carrie Rubin

    Glad to hear it. I’ve been looking forward to this one, even though I’m not really a Ferrell fan. Nice to hear he brings it down a notch. The movie will have some stiff competition with The Revenant and Hateful Eight though.

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    1. Sean Post author

      It’s definitely a busy Christmas movie season this year. As a change of pace this one might surprise. Considering this is the one I was least excited about of the three, I’m either in a really good spot or primed for a huge letdown. Time will tell.

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    1. Sean Post author

      The biggest problem with Get Hard was I got my hopes up too much after seeing the trailer. Looking back, the VIP experience (and my two beers) may have been part of the reason why I enjoyed the trailer so much. Although as I think about it, I had the same two beers for Get Hard as well and it just fell flat.

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  12. Sarah Ferguson and Choppy

    I thought this looked less-than-great – perhaps I judged it too quickly (of course, it may be because I tend to enjoy over-the-top Will Ferrell, though, so his less-than-over-the-top roles don’t tend to interest me).

    But my favorite Will Ferrell is, and likely forever will be, the Celebrity Jeopardy! Alex Trebek from SNL.

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    1. Sean Post author

      Well, this is definitely not over-the-top Ferrell. He’s super low key almost the whole movie. At first I was waiting for him to get crazy but as I settled in I liked that he didn’t.

      And I love his Alex Trebek, those skits have been consistently great over the years! Now I’m smiling thinking about all the classic Trebek-Connery exchanges.

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  13. April G

    I agree. This film was very good. I was disappointed in how the wife seemed to be an outsider instead of a participant in the conflict between the ex and her current husbands. I understand that it might mess up the story line a bit, but it would’ve been a better story, in my opinion.

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    1. Sean Post author

      That’s a good point. Linda Cardellini is really not given much to do at all in this movie, and that’s too bad. It would have been better if she had been more involved somehow.

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  15. MovieManJackson

    I really want an Other Guys 2 move with Wahlberg/Ferrell. TOG is one of my favorite comedies, ever (hot take I know). But, I have low expectations for this but I’ve been hearing it aint that bad. I’m watching this and expecting to laugh a great deal! Nice review.

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      2. Sean Post author

        Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I really don’t know why it’s getting such terrible reviews. There were some great scenes and a lot of laughs.

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