''Daddy's Home 2'' (titled on screen as ''Daddy's Home Two'') is a 2017 American
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
buddy comedy film directed by
Sean Anders
Sean Anders (born June 19, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter.
Career
He co-wrote and directed the 2005 film '' Never Been Thawed'', the 2008 film ''Sex Drive'', the 2014 film ''Horrible Bosses 2'', the 2015 film '' Daddy's Ho ...
and written by Anders and
John Morris. A sequel to ''
Daddy's Home'' (2015), it stars
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...
,
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...
,
Linda Cardellini,
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...
, with
John Lithgow and
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...
. The plot follows now-reformed fathers Brad and Dusty (Ferrell and Wahlberg), now co-parenting Dusty's kids, who have to deal with their own fathers (Lithgow and Gibson) visiting for the holidays.
Unlike its predecessor,
Red Granite Pictures
Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland in 2010. Its productions included ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and ''Dumb and Dumber To''. It was dissolved in 2018 after be ...
was not involved in the film's production.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
on the film began in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
in March 2017 and it was released in the United States by
Paramount Pictures on November 10, 2017. Although the film received generally negative reviews from critics, it grossed over $180 million worldwide against a production budget of $69–70 million.
Plot
Finally friends, Brad Whitaker and Dusty Mayron co-parent Dusty's two children, Megan and Dylan, who take turns at each father's house. Dusty has remarried to Karen, a doctor/novelist, and is stepfather to her daughter Adrianna. The men decide to have a joint Christmas rather than separate ones, after Megan embarrassingly admits during a school recital, that she does not like Christmas anymore due to the stress and embarrassment caused by the dual arrangement. She'd prefer one "together Christmas".
Dusty's tough fighter pilot/
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
astronaut father Kurt and Brad's overbearing and cheerful father, Don, unexpectedly arrive for Christmas. Megan and Dylan warmly embrace Don, as he is very present in their lives, while Kurt hasn't seen them since they were toddlers. From his envy of the affection the children show Don, Kurt rents a large cabin through
Airbnb
Airbnb, Inc. ( ), based in San Francisco, California, operates an online marketplace focused on short-term homestays and experiences. The company acts as a broker and charges a commission from each booking. The company was founded in 2008 b ...
, to house them all through the holiday week.
Brad and Dusty's co-parenting is put to the test by Kurt's meddling. Dusty’s beef with Kurt mainly stems from the fact that he was rarely there for him as a child. Especially painful was when, during a youth Glee Club recital he embarrassed himself by missing his solo part when Kurt left to make out with a woman during his part. Sara, meanwhile, tries to bond with Karen, but is appalled by her shoplifting clothes from a store and not caring if Adriana and Megan drink alcoholic eggnog. She later becomes concerned Don isn’t with his wife, whom he claims couldn’t come as she was staying home to take care of her ill brother.
Dylan develops a crush on a little girl staying in the cabin next door, causing Megan and Adrianna to constantly tease him in front of her. Brad gives him some “advice", and Dusty interjects when he thinks Brad is having what looks like “the talk” with Dylan, although they had agreed to do it together. As the trees on the Christmas tree farm are small, Kurt suggests they illegally go on to private property to cut one down. Brad mistakes a cell tower for a tree and is electrocuted.
After bowling, the family takes the kids to see Santa. There, Kurt tries to convince Dylan to ask Santa for a shotgun, but Don talks him out of it. Megan, however, wants one instead and is granted permission after Kurt makes a sexist comment. Out hunting the next day, Megan accidentally shoots Kurt in the shoulder, sending him to the hospital. While Kurt is down, she shoots two turkeys, surprising him. Sara confronts Brad over Don’s odd behavior, but he refuses to believe her.
Brad, Dusty, Don and Kurt go to an improv comedy club, where they have a good time until Kurt picking up a woman at the bar annoys Dusty. Brad enters Don into the improv show, and Dusty chooses the topic of a husband confronting his cheating wife as the subject of the skit. As it progresses, it is revealed that Don has separated from his wife in real life. Sara comforts Don about his divorce in front of an eggnog bowl, but when Dusty reveals his part in the skit, Don and Brad become furious and Dusty and Brad's relationship becomes strained. When they leave, Megan and Adrianna sneak cups of alcoholic eggnog. Brad, attempting to get back at Dusty, invites Adrianna's father, Roger. Roger intimidates Dusty as he had done to Brad in the first film.
The entire family takes part in a live nativity. Brad fights with Dusty because he wants to play Joseph. A drunken Megan begins to swear, and an equally drunk Adrianna falls from her platform, then the crowd breaks up. Instead of Dusty fighting Brad, he almost fights Roger, and Don is repeatedly hit in the face with ice-balls.
On Christmas Day the families, depressed from all the arguing, pack up to leave. On their way out of town, they are forced back due to a blizzard, taking shelter at a movie theater. They see ''Missile Tow'', a holiday action comedy film starring
Liam Neeson
William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...
. When the power cuts off during the movie, everyone goes to the lobby where each man confronts his father about his secrets, lies, and attitudes, and reconcile.
Remembering advice given to him by Kurt, Dylan walks toward the girl he has a crush on to kiss her, but instead kisses Adrianna. Kurt pushes Dusty to stand up to Adrianna and punish her for her recent behavior, but he instead tells her he loves her. He then tells Roger that loving Adrianna means loving her real father as well as he is also part of the family. Roger almost leaves without Adrianna. However, he has a change of heart after everyone breaks out into a song of "
Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...
" (during which the power comes back on) and he decides to stay.
Sometime later, at the airport, Don and Kurt are preparing to head back to their respective homes. Adrianna, who has grown close with Don, reveals she signed him up for a dating app for seniors so he can move on from Brad’s mother. Kurt goes with Don up the terminal escalators, where he reveals to Don that he switched out the tickets and they are going to spend New Year's together in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
to find dates more effectively.
As Brad's mother arrives, Dusty and Brad discover Brad's new stepfather is
Sully Sullenberger, pilot of the 2009 "
Miracle on the Hudson" flight. They remember watching the film ''
Sully'' together recently, and Dusty appears to be thrilled and excited to meet him. Brad seems willing to accept him, but instead runs down the terminal, screaming that Sully will never replace his father and "You only have one good story, my father has a million".
Cast
*
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...
as Brad Whitaker
*
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...
as Dusty Mayron
*
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...
as Kurt Mayron
*
John Lithgow as Don Whitaker
*
Linda Cardellini as Sara Whitaker
*
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...
as Roger
*
Scarlett Estevez
Scarlett Estevez (born December 4, 2007) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress playing Megan in the films '' Daddy's Home'' (2015) and its sequel ''Daddy's Home 2'' (2017). Estevez went on to play Trixie on the televisi ...
as Megan Mayron
*
Owen Vaccaro
Owen Wilder Vaccaro (born 2005/2006) is an American child actor. He has appeared in feature films since 2015, including '' Daddy's Home'' (2015), ''Daddy's Home 2'' (2017), and in the lead role of ''The House with a Clock in Its Walls'' (2018).
...
as Dylan Mayron
*
Alessandra Ambrosio
Alessandra Corine Ambrósio (; born 11 April 1981) is a Brazilian-American model. She is known for her work with Victoria's Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company's PINK line. Ambrosio was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 20 ...
as Karen Mayron
*
Didi Costine as Adrianna
*
Bill Burr
William Frederick Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. He has released multiple stand-up comedy specials, most notably ''Why Do I Do This?'' (2008), ''Let It Go'' (2010), '' You People Are ...
as Jerry
*
Chesley Sullenberger
Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born January 23, 1951) is a retired American fighter pilot, diplomat, and airline pilot best known for his heroism as captain of US Airways Flight 1549 that he ditched in the Hudson River in 2009 af ...
as himself
*
Liam Neeson
William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...
as himself (voice)
*
Daniel DiMaggio as Young Dusty
Production
In April 2016, the sequel was announced, with
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...
and
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...
reprising their roles,
Sean Anders
Sean Anders (born June 19, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter.
Career
He co-wrote and directed the 2005 film '' Never Been Thawed'', the 2008 film ''Sex Drive'', the 2014 film ''Horrible Bosses 2'', the 2015 film '' Daddy's Ho ...
and
John Morris writing the script, and Anders directing. In January 2017, it was reported that
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...
and
John Lithgow were being sought to play the main characters' fathers in the film. The two were later confirmed to star, along with
Linda Cardellini,
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...
, Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez, reprising their roles.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
began on March 20, 2017. Scenes were filmed in
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...
,
Clinton, Massachusetts
Clinton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,428 at the 2020 census.
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Clinton, please see the article Clinton (CDP), Massach ...
,
Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...
,
Lawrence, Massachusetts and
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...
.
Release
The film was released in the United States on November 10, 2017.
''Daddy's Home 2'' was released on
Digital HD on February 6, 2018, and was released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on February 20, 2018.
Reception
Box office
''Daddy's Home 2'' grossed $104 million in the United States and Canada, and $76.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $180.6 million, against a production budget of $69–70 million.
In the United States and Canada, ''Daddy's Home 2'' opened alongside ''
Murder on the Orient Express
''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...
'', and was projected to gross around $20 million from 3,575 theaters in its opening weekend.
The film made $10.7 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews at 2,500 theaters, up from the $1.2 million made by the first film. It went on to debut to $29.7 million, finishing second at the box office, behind holdover ''
Thor: Ragnarok'' ($57 million).
In its second weekend, the film made $14.4 million (a drop of 51.3%), finishing 4th behind ''
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
'', ''
Wonder
Wonder most commonly refers to:
* Wonder (emotion), an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something rare or unexpected
Wonder may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional entities
* The Wonders, a fictional band ...
'' and ''Thor: Ragnarok''.
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Daddy's Home 2'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "A formulaic comedy that's unlikely to spread much yuletide merriment, ''Daddy's Home 2'' can only muster a few stray yuks from its talented cast." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde (born May 18, 1967) is an American film critic, author, and podcaster.
Personal life
Duralde was born in East Point, Georgia, the youngest of seven children born to Spanish immigrants. He attended Vanderbilt University and curre ...
of ''
TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman
Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...
'' was critical of what he described as the film's sloppiness and laziness, saying, "Director Sean Anders and his co-writer John Morris execute what are supposed to be the laughs with blunt force. The jokes announce themselves with heavy footsteps, and almost none of them land, stranding a talented cast with terrible material that they’re straining to sell."
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' gave the film 1 out of 4 stars, saying: "After enduring last week’s lousy and lazy ''
A Bad Moms Christmas
''A Bad Moms Christmas'' is a 2017 American Christmas comedy film written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is a sequel to the 2016 film '' Bad Moms''. The plot follows the three moms from the first film (Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, an ...
'', I would have bet it would be many a year before we’d see another holiday comedy more sour and cynical and profoundly unfunny. I sit corrected."
Glenn Kenny of
RogerEbert.com gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing, "I found the sequel better than the original—the writing sharper, the jokes fresher and smarter, the comic interaction between the lead characters consistently engaging. I mentioned this to my incredulous wife, who said, 'So you’re saying it's the ''
Godfather, Part 2'' of the ''Daddy’s Home'' series'."
Accolades
Possible sequel
In an interview,
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...
mentioned that they would like to get
Liam Neeson
William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...
for the third installment of the film.
See also
*
List of Christmas films
References
External links
*
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
2017 films
2010s Christmas films
2010s Christmas comedy films
American Christmas comedy films
American sequel films
Films about dysfunctional families
Films directed by Sean Anders
Films produced by Adam McKay
Films produced by John Morris
Films produced by Will Ferrell
Films scored by Michael Andrews
Films shot in Massachusetts
Golden Raspberry Award winning films
Gary Sanchez Productions films
Paramount Pictures films
Films with screenplays by John Morris
Films with screenplays by Sean Anders
2017 comedy films
Films set in a movie theatre
2010s English-language films
2010s American films