Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) has been married to his new wife Sara (Linda Cardellini) for only a short time. She has two children from a previous marriage and Brad wants nothing more than to be the best step-dad ever! Just when he begins to make progress in that area, Sara’s ex-husband, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) shows up and the next thing you know there’s a good old fashion dad-off going down.

If you have seen any of the advertisements for “Daddy’s Home” it looks like it’s going to be just a one joke movie, that it will just be one scene after another of Ferrell and Wahlberg trying to out do one another for the children’s affections and comedy will ensue. While a great bulk of the movie is that, there is also more to it. The comedy comes from other areas too and there is a strong heart to it all.

Will Ferrell has not made a good comedy since “The Campaign” which was over three years ago. Both he and Wahlberg have their good share of comedic moments in “Daddy’s Home.” Thomas Haden Church co-stars with them and he steals every scene he is in to hysterical levels. All his moments on screen are pure gold.

It’s easy to understand some people will go into seeing this with plenty of skepticism or just low expectations. One of the most surprising aspects about this movie is that it wipes all that away and has a very strong third act to wrap everything up. If you are looking for a movie that you can walk out of at the end with a big smile on your face, “Daddy’s Home” should be your pick. It is rated PG-13 for some language and mild violence.