DADDYS HOME 2 (Sean Anders). 100 minutes. Opens Friday (November 10). See listing. Rating: N
Leave it to something as imbecilic and tasteless as Daddys Home 2 to make Mel Gibsons redemption tour (after the Oscar-nominated Hacksaw Ridge) the butt of its joke.
Returning from Hollywood exile after all that racist and sexist hate-spewing and domestic violence, Gibsons first onscreen role in a major studio film since 2010 has the actor playing a hyper-masculine, roughhousing womanizer whom we gladly hate.
His Kurt is father to Mark Wahlbergs Dusty, the roguish dad who once competed for his kids affection against Will Ferrells Brad, the hypersensitive stepdad filling his shoes. Dusty and Brad have since warmed up to each other and worked out an impossibly pleasant co-dad partnership. Kurt, crashing the holidays, looks on disapprovingly because the whole thing isnt very manly, and attempts to sabotage the set-up.
Gibsons character spends most of the movie showing off a sadistic chuckle or smile in a comedy that regularly relies on Ferrell landing on his ass.
But then there are those weird moments, where Gibsons Kurt tries to tell kids a joke about two dead hookers (i.e. violence against women), uses bring the hammer down as disciplinary advice when dealing with a teen girl and mentors his grandson on how to grope.
Anders actually sets this up as the redemptive bit: grandpas warmth shines past his rough edges and his shy grandson shows off his newfound self-esteem by surprising a girl with a kiss and a grope.
At a time when Ridley Scott is re-shooting scenes for a finished film in the 11th hour to gain some distance from Kevin Spaceys abuse allegations, and parents are actively sharing articles on how to raise boys to be less sexist, we have a comedy geared to families where groping is cute and funny.
