Daddy's Home 2 2017 * 1/2 Stars

Director: Sean Anders
Year: 2017
Rated PG-13
Rating: * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, Mel Gibson

Daddy's Home 2 is my latest review. It's a follow-up to 2015's surprise hit, Daddy's Home. The first outing wasn't great to begin with. Guess what, "2" is even worse.

Remember when Chevy Chase got into all kinds of shenanigans during National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Well Will Ferrell does the same exact shtick in Daddy's Home 2. Ferrell's gifts as a physical comedian are evident. The difference is that Chase's movie was done with a bit more craft. Heck, it had an actual story mind you.

"2", with its clips of kids getting drunk on eggnog, a nativity scene being destroyed, Xmas lights getting caught in a snowblower, and captain "Sully" Sullenger making a small cameo, is a yuletide cash grab just like A Bad Moms Christmas (released ten days earlier). The films are eerily similar with Daddy's Home 2 being the gender-flipped version of "Christmas". With A Bad Moms Christmas, the males are reduced to forgotten caricatures as they harbor minimal dialogue and fade into the background. With "2", the females don't have much to do either in terms of the overall plot. They are merely around for decoration (ha-ha, get it?).

Listen, "2" may be PG-13 (as opposed to A Bad Moms Christmas having a hard R) and it may be more slapstick in nature. Don't be fooled though. These flicks are mirror images of each other. They are both using the holidays as a hook to capitalize on the success of the originals. Yup, Daddy's Home 2 isn't a "home" worth saving.

"2's" director (Sean Anders) sans production values and trouper, conflict coherency in favor of sloppy editing, too many characters (stepdads, stepmoms, grandpas, stepchildren, etc.), and perennial, movie star wattage. His "2" isn't an actual motion picture. It's more of a series of set-ups, designed to get the viewer to chuckle occasionally. Almost every scene in Daddy's Home 2 is manipulated (or inserted) onto the screen without a true reason for being. Oh and by the way, Ferrell's pseudo-clumsiness here is definitely not rooted in reality.

In the realm of casting, Anders brings in John Lithgow and Mel Gibson to play the weirdo dads to Mark Wahlberg and Ferrell. Gibson, who has always been a favorite of mine, has obviously not been forgiven by Hollywood yet. In his heyday, he would've never agreed to star in something as shambolic as Daddy's Home 2.

All in all, the final sequence in "2" involves everyone snowed in at a movie theater on Xmas day. As the whole cast belts out "Do They Know It's Christmas?", I realized that I need to picket the resurrection of every sequel from hear on out. Rating: 1 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson