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 tells the story of 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.

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]

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 faced 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 a while 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 school's father/daughter dance.

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

When Dusty arrives, he immediately intimidates Brad with 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 reclaim his family by driving Brad away.

Dusty makes Brad seem racist after unwillingly firing handyman Griff after a fiasco with Dusty's motorcycle, and Dusty later invites Griff to move in with them. He 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 jointly teaching Dylan how to defend himself from the bullies. Additionally, the couple is overjoyed to learn that Brad's sperm count has recovered, giving them hope of having a child together.

However, Brad is stunned when Dusty reveals 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 Brad up by revealing himself to be friends with the coach of Dylan's favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Brad is upset when he learns that Megan has chosen Dusty to take her to the father/daughter dance instead of him.

During half-time, Brad is chosen to try to shoot a basketball from half-court 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 leave on the day of the 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 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.

At the dance, they discover the students who were bullying Dylan at school are girls. They almost fight the father of one of them when Dylan physically retaliates, as Brad and Dusty taught him to do, who had assumed the bullies were boys. However, Dusty finally decides to follow Brad's lead on being a father, quelling the fight with a dance-off. Brad and Sara reconcile, and Dusty decides to stay and "co-dad" for 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 is now friends with Brad.

Dusty remarries to Karen, who has a daughter Adrianna, thus making Dusty a stepfather himself. In an ironic twist of fate, he is now in exactly the same position that he put Brad in a year ago – visibly intimidated by Adrianna'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[19] by Paramount Pictures.[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] American filmmaker Sofia Coppola is a huge fan of the film and later named it as one of her favourite films.[27]

Accolades

edit

Will Ferrell was nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the category Choice Movie Actor in a Comedy.[28] 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

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.[29] In January 2017, Paramount Pictures courted Mel Gibson and John Lithgow to star in the sequel.[30] The two were later confirmed to star in the film. Linda Cardellini, Owen Vaccaro and Scarlett Estevez also reprise their roles.[31] John Cena reprised his role as Roger.[32] It was released on November 10, 2017.[33]

In an interview, Mark Wahlberg mentioned that they would like to get Liam Neeson for the third installment of the film.[34][35]

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. ^ Foreman, Alison; Chapman, Wilson (26 December 2023). "Sofia Coppola's favorite movies: 25 films the 'Lost in Translation' director wants you to see". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  28. ^ Vulpo, Mike (May 24, 2016). "Teen Choice Awards 2016 Nominations Announced: See the "First Wave" of Potential Winners". E!. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  29. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 22, 2016). "Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg Set 'Daddy's Home' Sequel At Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  30. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 30, 2017). "Mel Gibson, John Lithgow Circling 'Daddy's Home' Sequel". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  31. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 15, 2017). "Mel Gibson and John Lithgow Join 'Daddy's Home' Sequel". Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  32. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 10, 2017). "Jon Cena Back For 'Daddy's Home 2'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  33. ^ Lee, Ashley (February 1, 2017). "Paramount Sets 'Daddy's Home 2' for November Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  34. ^ "Mark Wahlberg wants Liam Neeson for Daddy's Home 3". rte.ie. November 16, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  35. ^ 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.
edit