Director: Sean Anders.
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, John Lithgow.
So Brad (Ferrell) the conservative, reliable and often too sensible stepfather; and Dusty, the heavy-handed, rough and ready man’s man, Dad have finally accepted one another and have formed quite a friendship which leads them to agree to a “together” Christmas putting them all under one roof. However, though this might already be enough for comical substance, the father’s of the two Dad’s will be joining them. Sounds very similar to A Bad Mom's Christmas no?
Lithgow plays Brad’s older self, a lovable, soft centred and even softer outside of a Dad with Gibson, playing Dusty’s estranged, typical tough-guy, alpha-male of a father; and we watch while all of them try to play happy families whilst old grudges and hot tempers rekindle.
It’s still very much Anders’ story so the style and level of humour is all there. It reminded me of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation but it’s sadly no way near as funny and is rather snowflakey throughout. The film does have heart and some touching moments but this increases the cheesy level to mature cheddar.
Ferrell and Wahlberg slip straight into Daddy modes as expected and I was looking forward to Gibson’s Kurt but found Lithgow a more convincing father; like Gibson didn’t seem all that bothered about his part. And the rest of the family seems to be totally sidelined, especially the kids making the film unbalanced and slippery.
The film doesn’t drag but feels quite long for this style of comedy. Especially when it feels poorly put together or filled out with smaller scenes to make sense of it all. It does have it’s moments but neither Ferrell, Wahlberg and with Gibson and Lithgow are enough to provide this with any great comedy.
Running Time: 5
The Cast: 8
Performance: 5
Direction: 4
Story: 5
Script: 6
Creativity: 6
Soundtrack: 5
Job Description: 4
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
48% 5/10
