Daddy’s Home 2 is a sequel that should have learned from its mistakes. Instead, it doubles down on the same formula: two dads, one family, and a holiday that goes badly wrong. The result is a movie that is less funny than it is exhausting.
Will Ferrell plays Brad, the sensitive stepdad who wants a peaceful Christmas. Mark Wahlberg plays Dusty, the gruff ex-husband who wants to impress everyone. Together, they try to co-parent their kids, Dylan and Megan, through the holiday season. But their plans fall apart when Dusty’s father Kurt and Brad’s father Don both show up.
Kurt is a tough fighter pilot and Space Shuttle astronaut. Don is gentle and cheerful. The two men could not be more different, and the movie spends most of its runtime trying to get them to interact. The problem is that neither actor is given much to work with. Mel Gibson plays Kurt as a loud, bullying presence, and John Lithgow plays Don as a kind man whose wife can’t attend the holiday. Neither performance goes anywhere, because the script doesn’t ask them to.
Trailer, via Paramount Pictures.
Dusty’s Resentment
The film’s central idea is simple: Dusty resents Kurt because Kurt abandoned him as a child. That’s a decent premise. But the movie treats it as a joke, not a wound. When Dusty remembers being humiliated at a Glee Club recital because Kurt left to make out with a woman, the scene is meant to be funny. It isn’t. It’s just a reminder of why Dusty hates Kurt, and the movie never does anything with that history.
The movie also introduces Dylan’s crush on a little girl named Casey, who stays in the cabin nearby. Megan and Adrianna tease Dylan about it, and Brad gives him some advice. Dusty watches nervously, thinking Brad is having “the talk” with Dylan, even though they agreed to do it together. It’s a small subplot, but it’s the closest the film comes to human feeling.
The Tree That Kills
The biggest disaster is the Christmas tree. Kurt suggests cutting one down illegally from a Christmas tree farm. Brad mistakes a cell phone tower for a tree and gets electrocuted. It’s a moment that should be a punchline, but it lands flat because the setup is so thin. The movie is full of these moments: jokes that depend on a setup the script never takes the time to build.
The film’s final stretch sends the four men to an improv comedy club. Kurt picks up a woman at the bar, annoying Dusty. Brad enters Don into the show. It’s chaos, but it’s the kind of chaos that feels staged rather than earned. There’s no tension, no stakes, just a series of pratfalls.
A Mess Worth Nothing
| Film | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| Daddy’s Home 2 | $69–70 million | Over $180 million worldwide |
| Daddy’s Home (2015) | Not stated | Not stated |
The film’s tagline promises “More Daddies. More Problems.” It delivers on the promise. But the problems are never resolved, just piled on top of each other. The movie is full of these moments: jokes that depend on a setup the script never takes the time to build.
More Daddies. More Problems.
That’s the whole philosophy.
The film’s best moments come from the kids. Dylan and Megan warm to Don immediately, while Kurt has barely seen them since they were toddlers. It’s a contrast that could have anchored the story. Instead, the movie uses it as a way to set Kurt against Don, and the conflict never gets satisfying.
The film grossed over $180 million worldwide against a production budget of $69–70 million. That’s a commercial success. It is not a success of quality. The film is lazy, repetitive, and mostly unfunny.
It’s a shame, because the cast is capable. Ferrell and Wahlberg have chemistry. Gibson and Lithgow are both excellent actors. None of that shows up here.
Daddy’s Home 2 is a failure of ambition. It could have been a sharp, funny commentary on fatherhood. Instead, it’s a cash grab with a Christmas card attached. The jokes land rarely. The drama doesn’t matter. The movie exists to run long enough to fill two hours.
It’s a mess. It’s not a good mess. It’s a bad mess. And it deserves a low score.
3 of 10.
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