After the shenanigans of 2015’s Daddy’s Home, mild-mannered stepdad Brad (Ferrell) and tough guy dad Dusty (Wahlberg) have managed to blend their families and get along. While Dusty is cool with the kids he had with Sara (Cardellini) being raised by Brad for most of the week, Sara doesn’t get along with Dusty’s glamorous girlfriend Karen (Alessandra Ambrosio) or her bratty daughter Adrianna. Christmas is looking like it might be tense – and that’s before Brad’s sweet dad Don (Lithgow) and Dusty’s lothario father Kurt (Gibson) both arrive to spread the holiday spirit.
As the extended family decamp to a huge cabin in the snowy mountains, tempers begin to fray, dads try to outdo each other, and comedy moments include one character being electrocuted, another being shot, one being humiliated on stage and much bad advice dispensed to the kids caught in the middle.
While there are some dubious messages in the movie – Brad’s soft approach is seen as wimpy, Kurt’s womanising ways are apparently manly – there are some funny physical comedy moments, and the pairing of Wahlberg and Ferrell remains as fun as it was in the first movie and in their more grown up teaming, The Other Guys. Both Gibson and Lithgow are well cast, too, and while this isn’t much more than some macho laughs wrapped up in Christmas paper, it has a cute enough final message to put a small Yuletide smile on your face.
Is Daddy’s Home 2 suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
While this is described as a family comedy, parents should note that in the UK it has a 12A certificate (PG-13 in the US) for adult language and innuendo.
Some of the content of the movie is quite grown-up and includes sex references but they are fleeting and should be missed/misunderstood by younger viewers. Mel Gibson’s character is depicted as a ladies man (and a threesome is briefly mentioned).
There is some swearing.
Some of the humour involves slapstick where people are injured – one character is electrocuted, one is shot by a child.
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