“You have one great story, my dad has millions!”

From Daddy’s Home 2.

Brad (Will Ferrell) is the step-father to Dusty’s (Mark Wahlberg) kids; they’ve accepted the presence of each other in their lives through the first movie and are now functioning fairly comfortably as co-dads.  While Dusty is working hard to maintain his marriage to his new wife (Alessandra Ambrosio), he is struggling to connect with his new step-daughter (Didi Costine); thankfully, his relationship with his ex-wife (Linda Cardellini) has reached a kid-focused peace.  When the kids (Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez) inform their parents that they don’t like having two Christmases, the dads decide to bring everyone together for one big family Christmas.  If a giant family gathering isn’t complicated enough, Brad’s overly/openly emotional dad, Don, (John Lithgow) and Dusty’s no-emotions father, Kurt, (Mel Gibson) both decide to visit for the holidays.  Kurt instantly looks down at Dusty and Brad’s joint parenting styles and tries relentlessly to stir up trouble between the men and the various members of the families.  Kurt rents a huge cabin for the whole family to spend Christmas at together, and the blended family quickly starts to unravel, putting the family’s Christmas in jeopardy.

This movie tries desperately to be a holiday film that the entire family can enjoy, but it misses the mark (granted, it is more family-friendly than Daddy’s Home).  The kids are hard to stomach for a majority of the movie; they come off as spoiled and ignorant as most of the little kid cuteness and charm has worn off since the original film.  There is no explanation as to why Gibson’s character is so bent on creating chaos for the blended family, except that it makes for a wild, comedic ride.  As with many comedies, a majority of the funniest jokes were overplayed in the trailers, so that the moment isn’t as funny when actually watching the movie.  This movie misses the mark as a holiday movie except for the fact that it takes place during the week of Christmas; it is a funny movie and worth a watch, but you’d be fine waiting for it to come out on DVD.

| Rated: PG-13 | Running Time: 100 minutes |Genre: comedy/holiday |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 5 of 10|Nudity: 1 of 10|Sexuality: 2 of 10|Gore: 1 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|