Daddy's Home

This supposedly warmhearted comedy from filmmaker Sean Anders stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as rivals for the affections of two moppets. Ferrell is their milquetoast stepdad Brad and Wahlberg is Dusty, the macho biological father who returns unexpectedly to make sure his kids don't bond with the new man in their life. Daddy's Home swiftly devolves into slapstick as Dusty uses every trick in the book to humiliate Brad in the kids' eyes, while Brad in turn tries vainly to one-up Dusty. But the children are portrayed as such obnoxious brats that one has to wonder whether the dad who wins them over will be the real victor. Even worse, there's a raunchy subplot involving Brad's infertility—the result of an accident with a dental x-ray machine—that introduces some sleazy humor involving testicles and sperm that seems out of place for a family flick (more or less). Of course, Brad and Dusty will eventually join together for the benefit of the kids. Mostly pedestrian in conception and execution when it is not being downright offensive, this is an optional purchase, at best. [Note: Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (12 min.), a “Halftime Stunt” segment (9 min.), deleted and extended scenes (8 min.), the production featurettes “Daddy-Off” (7 min.), “Hannibal Buress: The Perfect Guest” (6 min.), “Child's Play” (5 min.), “Daddy Daughter Dance” (5 min.), and “Tony Hawk: Skater Double” (4 min.), bloopers (2 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray extras package for a disappointing comedy.] (F. Swietek)