‘Daddy’s Home 2’: A gooey Christmas pudding (Review)

By Subhash K. Jha

Film: "Daddy's Home 2"; Director: Sean Anders; Cast: Mel Gibson, John Lithgow, Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg; Rating:***

It is important to understand that political correctness is not always the right route to take for escapist excursions while courting laughter. "Daddy's Home 2", which takes the rather engaging sparring game in the first film between two neighbouring dads to the next generation is a whirpool of improper guffaws, well-intended potshots at sacred cows of the traditional family get-togethers.

But for crying out loud, and laughing out strong, can't we just have fun without looking anxiously over our shoulder at life through the prism of isms?

So now here is the thing. Dads Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg are no longer at loggerheads. Their fathers are. And the fact that actors of Mel Gibson and John Lithgow's stature play the warring patriarchs just dads... I mean, adds so much sauce to the turkey topping. Having spent a large part of my movie experience watching Gibson's "Mad Max" act, it's delightful to see him play a Madder Max, who is thrown into the Christmas spirit with sweeter-than-plumcake John Lithgow.

Just the night before I had fun with this Christmassy concoction, I saw Lithgow as a hardboiled tycoon in the ecological drama "Dinner With Beatriz". He is a complete contrast here as a moony dad who meets his son Will Farrell at the airport with a passionate kiss on the lips, much to the disgust of Gibson who can't get along with son Mark Wahlberg let alone smooch him.

Lithgow and Gibson hold the sprawling narrative together. The heaving lurching cast comprises kids of both the sexes from two families their moms, dads and grand dads, all in a travelling mode. The plot has some razorsharp humour, and not all of it is decorous.

But why must we relinquish the fun that we had at the movies when every character and situation was not scrutinized for political correctness?

I am appalled to see some reviews do a Harvey Weinstein check on the male member of the cast, digging into their alleged offences in the past to prove why they are unfit to be enjoyable entertainers any more.

Give yourself a break from the pressures of looking for relevances in every frame, and "Daddy's Home 2" will give you that year-end pressure release from the "Padmavati" controversy that you were searching for in the movies.

The climax is located in the lobby of a multiplex theatre with the entire cast crooning "Do They Know It's Christmas".

Awwww to that. And can you please put away that Weinstein moral-o-metre and just let the comedy be?