Daddy’s Home waves goodbye to the long running comic genius that was Will Ferrell. Classics such as Stepbrothers, Anchorman and Elf will be bowing their heads in shame at this painfully awkward Sean Anders film.
Will Ferrell plays Brad; a beta over enthusiastic step-dad to his wife’s (Linda Cardellini) two kids. Just as the children start to integrate Brad into their family, in steps their real father, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg). The diametrically opposed pair -one edgy and biological and the other lame and unrelated- fight for their kid’s attention and the affection of their mom.
The competition of the male egos starts off slowly, with Walberg playing Mr nice-guy. Dusty is a motorcycle riding, leather jacket wearing bad boy scared of commitment and the mundane-ness of being a father, easily turning the situation to continuously make Ferrell look the fool. Bribing the kids with money, bed time stories and a mangy dog, Dusty soon finds himself at the centre of the family’s affection once more. The relationship then turns into little more than a pissing contest between the Dads, which leaves Ferrell stuck in a wall after attempting to ride Dusty’s motorcycle, and screeching “No. I’m not okay I’m in a wall and I’m scared”; a moment which could have been hilarious had it not been overshadowed by a terrible use of CGI for the motorcycle which ultimately made the gag seem cheap and fake.
Walberg and Ferrell have proven to be a brilliant comedy duo, as shown in their performances in The Other Guys, however in this film where they are pitted up against each other the jokes just fall flat. I feel bad in saying that I cringed throughout the entirety of the film and wished it could have been over sooner. With the film accumulating in a 2008 pop tune fuelled dance off, it is safe to say that it won’t be joining the comic pair’s greatest hits.
Image: Eva Rinaldi; flickr.com