Daddy's Home

Dopey stepdad and bad-ass biological father face off in "Daddy's Home." In spite of the proven comic team of Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, the humor in this predictable piece is only so-so.

Will Ferrell plays the embarrassingly emasculated loser you've seen him play in countless other movies, but this time his name is Brad. Brad wants nothing more than to be the perfect father, though siring his own children is not in the cards for him. Still, he's more than contented to raise his new wife Sara's (Linda Cardellini) two adorable kids.

Megan (Scarlett Estevez) and Dylan (Owen Wilder Vaccaro) have a real problem with "the new dad" that borders on antisocial, but Brad is such a genuinely nice guy that he begins to chip away at his stepchildren's hostility.

Once Brad's family life really begins to come together guess who shows up? The biological father Dusty (Mark Wahlburg). The setup is a perfect opportunity for Ferrell to redisplay the same embarrassing comic behaviors for which he's become famous - hysterically crying, taking off his clothes to expose his soft, spongy body and of course vain attempts to prove that he's macho.

You'll get the typical dick size jokes and some special effect scenes as Brad attempts to prove to his wife and kids that he is just as manly as Dusty. ("Watch out, Brad's about to mount a motorcycle and, what's that? A skateboard?") If this self-depreciating Ferrell character has made you laugh in the past then you know exactly what you're in for - more of the same.

Special features include two short (around 10-minute) making of videos, three closer-look videos of some of the pivotal scenes including a look a special effects and two videos that focus primarily on some of the smaller parts, the child actors and a bizarre character role played by Hannibal Buress.

"Daddy's Home"
Blu-ray Combo Pack ($24.96)
www.paramount.com