Daddy's Home

So I’ve done a pretty good job sticking to what I said in my first blog post about only reviewing comedies or superhero movies. My last post was another superhero post so today I thought I’d do a comedy. I’ll be reviewing a movie that just came out a couple weeks ago, Daddy’s Home, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Although it didn’t receive the best reviews, I thought it was actually pretty good.

Movie Cover courtesy of http://screenrant.com

First off, the actors. This movie was pretty highly anticipated because of that kick-ass cast: Ferrell and Wahlberg. Both actors have had very successful careers, and I was very excited to see them in their first ever team up. Will Ferrell delivered as always. It was fun seeing him play the older, more civilized role of a stepdad. He kind of started off slow but built up to his normal hilarious self later in the movie. I’ve came to realize that the modern Ferrell-era has had Will starring as pretty much the same character. I understand that he is getting older and has adapted to a new style of movie and character, but personally I enjoy the younger Ferrell. Daddy’s Home was definitely funny, but not funny like Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory, Stepbrothers, or any Ferrell classic. Others might not agree, but I like seeing Ferrell as loud, crazy and inappropriate as possible, and I just haven't seen it in his newer films. But Will Ferrell is always going to be Will Ferrell and he’s always going to be funny.

Ferrell in Blades of Glory courtesy of http://furlined.com

Next, Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg is more of an up-and-coming actor, receiving his first eye-opening success in Ted (2012). For those of you who don’t know, Wahlberg used to be a 90’s rapper known as Marky Mark. I loved him in both Ted and Ted 2, and am always going to remember him for that. I thought he did a decent job in Daddy’s Home. I wouldn’t consider him a funny actor, but more of an actor that stars in funny movies like Vince Vaughn or Owen Wilson. I think he did a really good job showing the bad-ass, muscular dad, Dusty Mayron, and I am excited to see what his future acting career has in store.

As for the story of this movie, I thought it was good. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I see it as almost a sequel to Stepbrothers (2008). But instead of stepbrother versus stepbrother, it’s stepdad versus real dad. We’ve never seen this idea in a movie before, and I thought it was funny and entertaining. The movie doesn’t really get good until the dads really start competing with each other, but after that all hell breaks loose. There were a lot of funny lines and scenes, but also some moments where it wasn’t too great. If I had to summarize the negativity from this movie, it would be that I don’t think they used such a great storyline to the full potential. I think if they had made the movie a little more raunchy and a little less family orientated, it could have been more funny. Although it could have been better, my favorite part was the ending. I think the writers did a very good job with the ending. I’m not going to give too much away, but the way everything works out in the end is very good. 

Overall, I think this movie had it’s highs and lows, but despite all the bad ratings, I thought it was pretty good. For those of you wondering if you should go see it, do it. You just might like it. I would give it an overall score of 7/10.