Daddy's Home 2

Picking up where the original 2015 comedy left off, the dueling daddies—macho Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberg), ex-husband of Sara (Linda Cardellini), and her new husband, manchild Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell)—have become close friends, cordially sharing custody of Dylan and Megan. Dusty is now married to Karen (model Alessandra Ambrosio), becoming stepfather to Karen's daughter with Roger (John Cena). Got all that? Instead of shuttling the kids back and forth, they've chosen to celebrate Christmas together. Which sounds wonderful until Dusty's misogynistic dad, Kurt (Mel Gibson), decides to visit, and Brad's dad, Don (John Lithgow), shows up alone, explaining that Brad's mother is tending to a sick relative. Seeds of discontent are sown as soon as homophobic Kurt spies sensitive Brad kissing his effete dad “hello” at the airport. Impulsively, Kurt rents an Airbnb cabin in the mountains so that they all can enjoy the snow and play with loaded guns. What could go wrong? Directed by Sean Anders, this is an episodic film with a familiar dysfunctional family plot and toxic, mean-spirited holiday chaos. Ho-ho-humbug. At the time, it might have seemed like a good idea to make bad-boy Gibson a crass, cynical, sexist, former astronaut, but especially in the wake of Hollywood's sexual harassment and assault scandals, he comes across as simply repugnant. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted and extended scenes (12 min.), the behind-the-scenes segments “The New Dads in Town: Mel & John” (8 min.), “Look Who's Back” (7 min.), “Co-Dads: Will & Mark” (7 min.), “Making a Sequel” (5 min.), and “Captain Sully” on the famous pilot's cameo (2 min.), plus a gag reel (4 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a terrible sequel.] (S. Granger)