Every once in a while a comedian that you thought was past his heyday, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, gives us a gem that is overlooked by most audiences and critics, mostly in due part to the fact that the mainstream has given up on the actor's ability to, you know, make us laugh. It happened with Sandler on "That's My Boy," a film that I've touted over and over here as an under appreciated film, and it definitely happened with Will Ferrel when he released "Daddy's Home" a few years ago.
This is Will Ferrel after all, sophisticated comedy it is not, but Wahlberg and Ferrell have great chemistry together, watch "The Other Guys," and have lots of fun playing off each other's personas. It's outrageously dumb, but sometimes checking your brain at the door when watching a movie can make a for an entertaining time. I'd add this film just a notch below "Anchorman," "Old School," "Talladega Nights," "Step Brothers," and "Elf" in the Ferrell pantheon.
Sofia Coppola is even a fan as she included it on her list last week alongside The New York Times 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far, which also had six filmmakers making their own lists. Talking to Vulture, she elaborated that:
“Well, [my children] have such bad taste in the movies they want to watch. [Laughs.] I was always exposed to such good films growing up, so I try to show those to them, but if anything’s old, they don’t want to see it,” she said. “It’s always a struggle to find a movie that we all enjoy, but they were cracking up watching ‘Daddy’s Home,’ so that made it fun.”
With all that being said, this new trailer makes the sequel look pretty awful. “Daddy’s Home 2” opens on November 10th.