Daddy’s Home Parent Guide

Viewing Daddy’s Home is akin to being a spectator at a cockfight. In the ancient and usually illegal practice, two roosters are put in the same pen where a battle-to-the-death ensues, thanks to the birds’ instinctive male dominance behavior. In the movie, two men – vying for the affections of the same mother and children, engage in the most ridiculous stunts, thanks (I can only assume) to behavior driven by testosterone. Neither sport is particularly pleasant to watch.

All the same, the screenwriters here are game to pit softhearted, dependable and eager-to-please Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell), against the street-tough, reckless and self-centered Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberger). Despite Sara’s (Linda Cardellini) assurance that she prefers Brad’s stable support to Dusty’s passionate unpredictability, the new husband and the children (Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez) are still blown away by the ex-husband’s “cool factor”. And that is when jealousy (and stupidity) rears its ugly head.

The rest of the film consists of escalating situations of one-upmanship that result in damage to body, property and ego. The naïve and insecure Brad takes the worst of the beatings, however Dusty’s impatience with fatherly responsibilities proves he too has a few chinks in his manly armor. These competitions are always played for laughs, and ignore the real danger of the situations. Consequently, some audience members may not find the depictions particularly funny – such as the scene where a character’s heart stops after he is accidentally electrocuted and help is “humorlessly” delayed.

As well, comedy is derived through sexual innuendo and references. A visit to a fertility clinic is especially abundant in crass comments as a very unprofessional doctor examines male body parts and suggests collecting medical samples. (Of course, somebody gets caught with his pants down…)

This tediousness continues with poor advice about handling grade school bullies. Language includes name-calling, mild and moderate profanities, as well as terms of deity. Some characters tell inappropriate stories. And a frustrated character resorts to bribes and a drunken temper tantrum.

While I feel sorry for the roosters thrown into the cockpit for the sake of amusement, I have no such sympathy for the characters in this movie that doesn’t even provide much entertainment. All I’m left with is wondering what was this film’s intended audience? Is it macho men that like to see each other strut their stuff? (You’ve gotta admit, it is Brad and the other male characters in this script that admire Dusty most.) Is it henpecked men cheering on the timid male? (After all, it’s Brad’s passive philosophy that eventually pulls a happy ending out of this dysfunctional tale.) It certainly can’t be children—their only role is to be the rope in this tug-of-war. And I’m pretty sure this won’t appeal to my gender either. Despite centuries of history and literature trying to convince females otherwise, most of us, like Sara depicted here, are more embarrassed than flattered by this kind of attention. Perhaps it is also time to outlaw the antiquated idea of using people (in this case, woman and children) as trophies.

About author

Donna Gustafson

Donna Gustafson has been involved with her husband Rod's work since the beginning. Handling many of the behind-the-scenes tasks, she also creates preview pages for up-coming movies, acts as managing editor and occasionally writes reviews.