Daddy's Home (film)

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Daddy's Home
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySean Anders
Screenplay by
Story byBrian Burns
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJulio Macat
Edited by
Music byMichael Andrews
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • December 9, 2015 (2015-12-09) (London)
  • December 25, 2015 (2015-12-25) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[2]
Box office$242.8 million[3]

Daddy's Home is a 2015 American buddy comedy film directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders, Brian Burns, and John Morris.[4] The film is about a mild-mannered stepfather (Will Ferrell) who vies for the attention of his wife's (Linda Cardellini) children when their biological father (Mark Wahlberg) returns.

This is the second collaboration between Ferrell and Wahlberg following the 2010 film The Other Guys. Principal photography began on November 17, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film was released on December 25, 2015, by Paramount Pictures and grossed $242 million worldwide, becoming Ferrell's highest-grossing live-action film. It received praise for the performances and chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg but criticism for its lack of funny ideas and not fully exploring the premise.[5] A sequel, Daddy's Home 2, was released on November 10, 2017.

Plot[edit]

Mild-mannered radio executive Brad Whitaker tries hard to be a good stepfather to his wife Sara's two children, Megan and Dylan, and is seemingly sterile after an accident to his testicles three years ago. The kids are finally getting closer to him: Dylan confides in him about some older bullies at school and Megan asks him to take her to the father/daughter dance at her school.

One night, however, Dusty Mayron, Sara's ex-husband and the kids' biological father, calls discovering Sara's married to Brad, and announces he will be visiting the next day. She hesitates to let him into their home, but Brad convinces her it is important for the kids to see their father and stepfather establish a respectful relationship.

When Dusty arrives, he immediately intimidates Brad by his tough and muscular appearance and his charm with Megan and Dylan. He talks Brad into letting him stay, despite Sara warning about his true nature. Brad soon wises up when it becomes clear he intends to drive Brad out of his kids' lives and reconcile with Sara. After Dusty shows him up repeatedly - getting the kids a dog and finishing a treehouse Brad had been building with Dylan, he makes Brad seem racist after unwillingly firing handyman Griff after a fiasco with Dusty's motorcycle.

Dusty tries to drive a wedge between Brad and Sara by taking them to a fertility doctor, hoping that Brad's inability to impregnate her will send her back into Dusty's arms. Still, the two men appear to reach an understanding after working together to teach Dylan how to defend himself from the bullies. Additionally, the couple is overjoyed to learn that Brad's sperm count has increased significantly, giving them hope of having a child together.

However, Brad is stunned when Dusty reveals that he still intends to drive him out of the family. Desperate, Brad spends tens of thousands of dollars on gifts, including a pony for Megan, and $18,000 tickets to an NBA game for Dylan. At the game, Dusty once again shows him up by revealing himself to be friends with the coach of Dylan's favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Brad is even more enraged when he learns that Megan has changed her mind, and has chosen Dusty to take her to the daddy/daughter dance instead of him. Sara is upset with Brad for his behavior, and the rest of the family sits separately from him.

During half-time, Brad is chosen to try to shoot a basketball to win a prize. Drunk, he goes on a rant about Dusty before accidentally hitting a cheerleader, and a disabled child in a wheelchair in the face with a basketball. Humiliated, Brad moves out of the house; however, when Dusty tries to comfort Sara, she rejects him, and forces him to step up as a father to help his children with their busy schedules.

Four days later, Brad is living in his office at work, depressed. Dusty, meanwhile, is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a full-time father. When Dusty decides to call it quits and leave on the day of Megan's dance, Griff convinces Brad to fight for his family. Finding Dusty at a bar, he tries to get him to come back. Dusty admits that he cannot handle the hard parts about being a father, and admires Brad for putting up with everything. Brad says that all of the terrible parts about being a dad are worth it, because in the end, he is doing it for his kids. This convinces Dusty to go to the dance, and they arrive together.

There, they discover that the students who were picking on Dylan at school are girls. They almost fight the father of one of the girls when Dylan physically retaliates, doing what Brad and Dusty taught him to do, under the impression that the bullies were boys. However, Dusty finally decides to follow Brad's lead on being a father, and instead quells the fight by starting a dance-off. Brad and Sara reconcile, and Dusty decides to stay and be a good "co-dad" to his kids.

One-year later, the whole family is happy; Brad and Sara have a new baby boy named after Griff, and Megan and Dylan have finally accepted Brad as their stepfather. Dusty is now a Panda DJ, has become wealthy, and he and Brad are now friends.

Dusty remarries to Karen, who has a daughter Adrianna, thus making Dusty a stepfather himself. Sara is immediately intimidated by her. In an ironic twist of fate, Dusty is now in exactly the same position that he put Brad in a year ago – visibly intimidated by his stepdaughter's more muscular father, Roger.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Casting[edit]

On November 5, 2014, it was confirmed that Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg would play the lead roles in the film.[6][7] On November 12, Linda Cardellini joined the cast of the film, to play Ferrell's character's wife.[8] On November 18, Hannibal Buress joined the film to play a sarcastic handyman.[9] On January 28, 2015, Paul Scheer was added to the cast of the film, playing The Whip, a crazy DJ.[10]

Filming[edit]

Principal photography began on November 17, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana.[11][12] On November 24 and 25, filming took place at Edward Hynes Charter School.[13] On January 12, 2015, actors were spotted filming in the Lakeview area.[14] On January 21, 2015, a scene was shot during a New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers game where Ferrell smashed a cheerleader (played by stuntwoman/wrestler Taryn Terrell) in the face with a basketball.[15] Tony Hawk was the stunt double for Ferrell in a skateboarding scene, who got hurt on the set.[16] Filming was scheduled to wrap on February 3, 2015, but lasted through February 6.[17][18]

Release[edit]

The film premiered in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2015 and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on Boxing Day, December 26, 2015 by Paramount Pictures.[19][20]

Home media[edit]

Daddy's Home was released digitally on March 8, 2016, before being released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 22, 2016.[21]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

Daddy's Home grossed $150.4 million in North America and $92.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $242.8 million, against a budget of $69 million.[3] It is Ferrell's highest-grossing live-action film, surpassing Elf ($220.4 million).[22]

In the United States and Canada, the film opened on December 25, 2015 alongside Point Break, Joy, Concussion, and the wide release of The Big Short. In its opening weekend the film was projected to gross $20–25 million from 3,271 theaters.[23] However, after grossing $1.2 million from its early Thursday showings and $15.7m on its opening day, weekend projections were increased to $43–46 million.[24] The film ended up grossing $38.7 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($149.2 million). It was the second biggest non-animated opening of Ferrell's career, behind Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ($47 million).[22]

Critical response[edit]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Daddy's Home has an approval rating of 30% based on 123 reviews and an average rating of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have proven comedic chemistry, but Daddy's Home suffers from a dearth of genuinely funny ideas – and lacks enough guts or imagination to explore the satirical possibilities of its premise."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 42 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[26]

Accolades[edit]

Will Ferrell was nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the category Choice Movie Actor in a Comedy.[27] Daddy’s Home was nominated a Kid’s Choice Award in the category Favorite Movie while Will Ferrell won the award in the category Favorite Movie Actor.

Sequel[edit]

Main article: Daddy's Home 2

In April 2016, a sequel was announced with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg reprising their characters. Anders and John Morris wrote the script and Anders directed.[28] In January 2017, Paramount Pictures courted Mel Gibson and John Lithgow to star in the sequel.[29] The two were later confirmed to star in the film. Linda Cardellini, Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez also reprise their roles.[30] John Cena reprised his role as Roger.[31] It was released on November 10, 2017.[32]

In an interview, Mark Wahlberg mentioned that they would like to get Liam Neeson for the third installment of the film.[33][34]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "DADDY'S HOME (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  2. ^ FilmL.A. (June 15, 2016). "2015 Feature Film Study". Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Daddy's Home (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Denise Petski (19 June 2015). "[WATCH] 'Daddy's Home' Trailer: Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg Star - Deadline". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Daddy's Home (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 5, 2014). "Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg Reteam On 'Daddy's Home'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  7. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 4, 2014). "Paramount Looking To Re-Team Mark Wahlberg And Will Ferrell In 'Daddy's Home'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  8. ^ Ford, Rebecca; Kit, Borys (November 12, 2014). "Linda Cardellini Joins Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg in 'Daddy's Home'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  9. ^ Kit, Borys (November 18, 2014). "Hannibal Buress Joins Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg in 'Daddy's Home'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  10. ^ "Paul Scheer Heads To 'Daddy's Home', Joins Brian Huskey In Musical 'One Shot'". Deadline Hollywood. January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  11. ^ Scott, Mike (October 16, 2014). "Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg to reteam in New Orleans for 'Daddy's Home'". nola.com. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  12. ^ "Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are headed to New Orleans for 'Daddy's Home'". onlocationvacations.com. October 17, 2014. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  13. ^ "'Daddy's Home', starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, spotted filming at a New Orleans Elementary School this week". onlocationvacations.com. November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "'Daddy's Home', starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, filming in Lakeview, New Orleans". onlocationvacations.com. January 12, 2015. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  15. ^ "'Taryn Terrell gets smashed in the face by Will Ferrell'". gerweck.net LLC. January 22, 2015. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  16. ^ "Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell Talk Drunk Basketball and Kobe Bryant on the Set of 'Daddy's Home'". collider.com. December 7, 2015.
  17. ^ B. Gill, Stanley (October 10, 2014). "Louisiana Film TV Production Jobs Hotline – October 10, 2014". thehollywoodsouthblog.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  18. ^ "On the Set for 2/9/15: Will Ferrell Wraps 'Daddy's Home', Kate Beckinsale Starts Shooting 'Love & Friendship' & More". ssninsider.com. February 9, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  19. ^ "Ikon London Magazine coverage of Daddy's Home Premiere". Ikon London Magazine. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  20. ^ Cunningham, Todd (June 3, 2015). "Mark Wahlberg-Will Ferrell Comedy 'Daddy's Home' Gets Holiday Release". thewrap.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  21. ^ "Daddy's Home (2015)". DVDsreleasedates.
  22. ^ a b "Will Ferrell". boxofficemojo.com.
  23. ^ Anthony D'Alessandro (December 21, 2015). "'Force Awakens' Will Own Christmas Weekend As Five Wide Releases Join The Fray – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  24. ^ "Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg Comedy 'Daddy's Home' Earns $1.2M In Thursday Previews". Deadline Hollywood. 25 December 2015.
  25. ^ "Daddy's Home (2015)". Metacritic. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  26. ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-16.
  27. ^ Vulpo, Mike (May 24, 2016). "Teen Choice Awards 2016 Nominations Announced: See the "First Wave" of Potential Winners". E!. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  28. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 22, 2016). "Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg Set 'Daddy's Home' Sequel At Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  29. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 30, 2017). "Mel Gibson, John Lithgow Circling 'Daddy's Home' Sequel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  30. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 15, 2017). "Mel Gibson and John Lithgow Join 'Daddy's Home' Sequel". Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  31. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 10, 2017). "Jon Cena Back For 'Daddy's Home 2'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  32. ^ Lee, Ashley (February 1, 2017). "Paramount Sets 'Daddy's Home 2' for November Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  33. ^ "Mark Wahlberg wants Liam Neeson for Daddy's Home 3". rte.ie. November 16, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  34. ^ Holmes, Adam (November 9, 2017). "Will Ferrell And Mark Wahlberg Had A Real Daddy's Home 2 Moment When Their Kids Started Talking". cinemablend.com. Retrieved March 6, 2020.

External links[edit]

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