Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell reunite for more laughs in Daddy's Home 2, Latest Movies News - The New Paper
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Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell reunite for more laughs in Daddy's Home 2

US actors Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell return for Daddy's Home 2, sequel to hit 2015 family comedy

Currently showing here, Daddy's Home 2 has dads Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) and Brad (Will Ferrell) have joined forces to provide their kids with the perfect Christmas. But their new-found partnership is put to the test when their respective fathers (played by Mel Gibson and John Lithgow) arrive to throw the holiday into complete chaos.

On the appeal of seeing these characters with their dads

Ferrell: We had open and frank discussions, Mark and I, along with (director-writer) Sean (Anders), (writer) John Morris and other producers of the movie - that if we couldn't think of a unique furthering of the story, then it really wasn't worth making a sequel.

When those guys pitched the idea that... we pick up where our story left off on the first one - we see Dusty and Brad actually working in unison, it all seems to be working in a way.

The dysfunctional situation from the first one has now coalesced to become a real working partnership.

Now, you add their fathers into the mix and it opens up a whole new can of worms. And that was an exciting opportunity that gave us a whole other playing field to make it worthy of doing a sequel.

On what audiences will enjoy about the movie

Ferrell: They're going to love seeing the return of Mel to the big screen but in a way that you haven't seen him before, or at least in a long time, showing his comedic chops.

He makes such a great pairing with John. As soon as you see them appear at the airport, you're like, 'Oh, those are the two perfect actors to play our characters' dads.'

Also, along with the fact that our director did an amazing balancing act of keeping the ball in the air for so many funny characters throughout the movie. It really doesn't peter out, and that is a hard thing to do.

On their favourite scenes in the movie

Wahlberg: The theatre at the end with all of us coming together. It is just the idea of being together on holidays, experiencing going to the movies and connecting with people. Realising that it is dark and you don't know who is sitting next to you, you are stuck there and forced to look at each other, communicating and reminding each other what is important.

I don't know, there is just a lot of humour there but more importantly, a lot of heart. It really puts you in the holiday mood and reminds people of what is important.

On which is more fun - being a dad or a granddad

Ferrell: Probably granddad. Grandparents are rock stars in the family. They get to come in, bend the rules, give little fun gifts. They get to wind the kids up, and then they get to leave.

Wahlberg: Fall asleep on the couch?

Ferrell: (Laughs.) So I think granddads - deservedly so - always will beat out dads.

On how the relationship between the characters are relatable

Ferrell: There is a lot of discussion - not to get too deep - of boundaries and also things that aren't as they appear, in terms of the outward appearance of relationships.

The dynamic between John's character and us seems to be one way, but we have a lot of undercurrents there that kind of come out.

The characters that Mark and Mel play are working through their stuff. And then, just practical things - like one of the funnier scenes is our four-way argument about setting the thermostat.

While it is a funny joke, we're also picking on Mark's character for not having control of his stepdaughter.

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