Review of Daddy's Home (2014) by Johnny T — 09 Jan 2016

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have proven comedic chemistry, but Daddy's Home suffers from a dearth of genuinely funny ideas - and lacks enough guts or imagination to explore the satirical possibilities of its premise. Ferrell, though, has a genuinely subversive quality as a comedian. He looks and seems bland in the extreme but his behaviour is frequently outrageous. Lame Ferrell, through some weird freak of his talent, tends to be the best Ferrell, and despite the film's general mediocrity in most departments - let us swish briskly over everything about the way it looks - his floundering star turn delivers the goods. Daddy's Home won't surprise anyone with its casting or with its simplistic plot of two dads fighting for the affections of their kids. Yet, the filmmakers keep the acutely comic curveballs coming, and curiosity convinces us to continue. There are a handful of memorable cameo appearances - with the best of them arriving near the film's end - that help to spice up what is otherwise a routine mainstream comedy offering. Ferrell and Wahlberg's chemistry is infectious even when their jokes flop, but the conflict between them never seems like something a fist bump won't fix. Although it's about as low ambition as a movie can get, Daddy's Home is a fairly enjoyable watch if only to see Ferrell and Wahlberg spar.

VERDICT: "In The Zone" - [Mixed Reaction] These kinds of movies are usually movies that had some good things, but some bad things kept it from being amazing. This rating says buy an ex-rental or a cheap price of the DVD to own. If you consider cinema, ask for people's opinion on the film. (Films that are rated 2.5 or 3 stars).