DADDY'S HOME

Standing at the back of the theatre on the first night Star Wars: The Force Awakens played, I overheard this interchange between one of the theatre's regular patrons and a preteen boy accompanied by a 20 (30?) something man.  

Regular Patron:  Your dad can probably tell you about seeing Star Wars when he was your age. Preteen Boy:  He's not my dad.  He's my mother's boyfriend.

And there you have the plot of Daddy's Home in a nutshell.   Imdb.com summarizes the plot thus:

Stepdad, Brad Whitaker, is a radio host trying to get his stepchildren to love him and call him Dad. But his plans turn upside down when the biological father, Dusty Mayron, returns.

Fair warning, I have not as yet seen this movie, but I can picture the mayhem to ensue when two men fight, even metaphorically, over who is the best daddy.  And given that we’re dealing with Will Ferrell as the step-dad and Mark Wahlberg as the biological dad, that mayhem is probably going to be pretty broad, slapstick even.  And let’s bet that lots of money gets thrown around as each “dad” tries to outdo the other. 

Three reviews of Daddy’s Home (New York Times, Variety and Plugged In) were lukewarm at best about the film, but that doesn’t mean that audiences haven’t liked it.  The movie grossed $38,740,203 on its opening weekend (it was a Christmas release) and to date it has brought in another $100 million in the month since opening night.  That’s better than The Good Dinosaur, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip, and Creed have done, to name three films shown recently at the Llano.  No, it’s nowhere near Star Wars, but then what is.

The Plugged In review was the most forgiving of the three I read, but it took the trouble to enumerate the language that is probably responsible for the movie’s PG-13 rating.  I won’t repeat it here, but suffice it to say that while your kids have probably heard worse on the school playground, this could be a problem if you’re trying to shelter your children from foul language and sexual (mis)conduct.  As to the latter, there is nothing on the screen that will hurt grandma’s eyes, but there’s lots of suggestive activity, and, apparently, when Brad (Ferrell) goes to Dusty’s (Wahlberg) urologist, it’s clear to all concerned just what he’s doing to produce a sperm sample, even if we don’t see the act itself.  Fair warning. 

The director and co-writer of the movie is Sean Anders, previously responsible for Horrible Bosses 2, Dumb and Dumber To, We’re the Millers, and Hot Tub Time Machine, most of which were rated R.  It’s not true to say that Daddy’s Home is his first attempt at a more family-friendly rating.  His Mr. Popper’s Penguins with Jim Carey was rated PG and Dumb and Dumber To PG-13, but reading the various reviews of this movie, it’s hard to argue with the idea that perhaps, just perhaps, Mr. Anders is more comfortable with “adult” language and situations.  I’ll write more after I’ve seen the movie.

Daddy's Home is scheduled to be shown Friday through Sunday, January 29-31, 2016 at the Llano Theatre on Railroad Street in downtown Plains.  Show times are 8 p.m. each evening; adult tickets are $5.00.

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

DADDY'S HOME PG-13
January 29 - 31
JOY PG-13
February 5 - 7
KUNG FU PANDA 3 PG
February 12 - 14
THE FINEST HOURS PG-13
February 19 - 21

In the interest of full disclosure:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.

Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away...

But you already know all that.  Were you aware that you still have two days to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the Llano Theatre in downtown Plains, Montana?  Yes, it's been held over for a second week and at these ticket prices, you have no excuse for not seeing your favorite science fiction epic at least a second, if not a third or fourth time.  It’s playing tonight and tomorrow evening at 8 p.m.

Now those of you who have been following this saga since the beginning (1977), know the story well.  Here’s how imdb.com summarizes the plot of the very first movie, now called Episode IV, A New Hope:

Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader.

Fast forward almost forty years and here’s how I would summarize Episode VII, The Force Awakens:

A storm trooper on the lam joins forces with two cocky pilots, a wookiee and a droid to save the galaxy from the First Order’s world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue the scavenger/pilot Rey from the evil Kylo Ren.

Sound familiar?  Yeah, you’ve seen this movie before, but who cares?  There’s plenty of action, not a little amount of humor, and most of the cast of the original 1977 movie are back.  

Oh, and it’s another father/son flick.  Remember Darth Vader telling Luke “I am your father.”  That was news to Luke (and also to Princess Leia, who it turns out is Luke’s sister), but Kylo Ren, Darth Vader’s stand in for Episode VII, knows full well he is the son of Han Solo and Princess, now General, Leia.  The question here is rather is there enough light left in Ren to bring him back from the Dark Side.  Nope—that’s not the question.  The ONLY question in this movie that you haven’t already answered for yourself is “Who is Rey, and why did her family abandon her on the desert planet Jakku?”  I’m sure we’ll find out in Episode VIII (due in 2017) or possibly Episode IX (due in 2019).  One blogger has already made his guess, but I won’t reveal his thinking.

OK, I’ve now seen The Force Awakens twice, both times at the Llano, and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing it again.  So this evening, or tomorrow evening, or both, head downtown, buy your $5 ticket ($4 for children—and there’s nothing here that children shouldn’t see), grab a big bag of buttered popcorn and a large drink and settle in for an enjoyable evening.  

And my favorite line in the whole 2 hour fifteen minute movie?  When Han Solo sees Princess, sorry, General Leia for the first time in who knows how long, he says simply “You’ve changed your hair.”  Yep, spoiler alert, she’s not wearing the cinnamon buns over her ears.

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

DADDY'S HOME PG-13
January 29 - 31
JOY PG-13
February 5 - 7
KUNG FU PANDA 3 PG
February 12 - 14
THE FINEST HOURS PG-13
February 19 - 21

Final bit of revelation:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.