This sequel to the 2015 comedy reunites Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg
This sequel to the 2015 comedy reunites Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.
And here they’re joined by a second pair of chalk-and-cheese father figures - Ferrell’s even more mild-mannered retired postman dad, played by John Lithgow, and Wahlberg’s mean and sarcastic ex-astronaut father, played with bristling alpha-male swagger by Mel Gibson.
Appalled that his son has become a 'progressive, sensitive, child-first parent', he's eager to stir things up between Wahlberg and Ferrell.
And he more than gets his chance when the entire family, including wives Linda Cardellini and Alessandra Ambrosio, plus an assortment of kids, heads off to a New England cabin for the Christmas holiday.
The ensuing vacation provides ample opportunity for slapstick disaster, with Ferrell's clumsy wuss again taking most of the pratfalls, whether falling foul of a voice-activated shower or an out-of-control snowblower.
His co-stars are also perfectly cast, with Gibson bringing just the right touch of sourness to offset the prevailing sweetness, while Ferrell and Wahlberg's comic chemistry always raises a smile.
