“A cheap laugh is still a laugh.”
That incredible, unforgettable, timeless quote I just made up must’ve been the credo for the makers of Daddy’s Home 2. If there’s an obvious joke, the film will go for it. If there’s a running gag, it’ll be repeated into oblivion. If one shot of Mel Gibson’s creepy smile gets a chuckle from the audience, then they’ll be rolling in the aisles at the 50th shot.
Daddy’s Home 2 is Hollywood laziness typified. Take one successful comedy, bring back the main cast, throw in some seasoned actors, send the characters to a vacation spot, run through the same comedic and dramatic beats until you’ve got a decent runtime, and cash your cheque. Easy peasy.
There’s some enjoyment to be had here, mostly thanks to its cast, but it’s satisfying the same way McDonald’s is satisfying: You feel a bit queasy afterwards.
In this sequel to a Mark Wahlberg-Will Ferrell movie that’s, for whatever reason, not The Other Guys 2, Ferrell plays a step-dad on relatively good terms with Wahlberg’s OG dad. They work together to get the kids to school, fist bump, and share hot chocolate. How adorable. But there’s trouble in paradise when their fathers come to visit for Christmas. Then a bunch of other stuff happens.
See how I lost interest in that last paragraph and gave up? That’s how lightweight and inconsequential this story is. It’s impossible to get invested in the plot since it’s such a passionless rehash of other, better movies. There are themes of fatherhood and divorce, but they’re so half-heartedly handled that they feel like Christmas ornaments a distant relative gave you; you’re obligated to put them up, but you don’t really care.
But are there any laughs on this oh-so-familiar ride? Yeah, a good handful. The main cast is talented enough to sell their weak material, crafting some decent jokes. Mark Wahlberg continues to be out of his depth in roles that require him to do more than shout, which is a big problem since he carries a lot the “emotional” scenes in the film. But Ferrell is as solid as ever playing a neurotic man-child and John Lithgow makes the most of his embarrassingly underwritten role. The MVP may just be the Comeback King himself, Mel Gibson. His demented grins and genuinely insane-looking eyes elicit more chuckles than any lines from the half-baked script.
Everyone else fills their roles out fine, although they feel more like wallpaper than fleshed-out characters. The always funny John Cena is criminally underutilized in a glorified cameo.
As I said, there are a handful of one-off jokes that keep the film from completely falling apart. I chuckled quite a few times. Unfortunately, I can’t remember a single gag and I only saw the film three hours ago. It’s cinematic vapour; it’s technically there, but I can’t grasp it.
What’s most frustrating about Daddy’s Home 2 is how you can see a much more absurd comedy poking through its blandness. Weird elements like Ferrell constantly kissing his father or Gibson suffering a sudden, violent gunshot wound or John Cena’s irrational hatred for Mark Wahlberg suggest a dark comedy akin to Step Brothers or Observe and Report. While it might not have been a good comedy, it would have certainly been memorable. But the film mostly suffocates these elements in a blanket of lazy jokes.
I will say the film handles its comedy better than its drama. A mid-point plot twist about Lithgow’s character is nothing more than a cheap stab at unearned sentimentality. Scenes focusing on the effects of divorce and childhood neglect ring about as hollow as a Kinder Surprise egg.
Daddy’s Home 2 scores a couple of good yuks, but they fade from the mind faster than Christmas office party.
