STEP DAD'S HOUSE — Christmas weekend is jam-packed with new movie releases to check out. When it comes to family fare for the holiday you've got pretty slim pickings. The closest thing is the Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg comedy "Daddy's Home."

While some of the trailers may try and sell it as a family film, don't be mistaken. While it's not as crass as say, "Anchorman," I would not call this movie fun for the whole family. In fact, I don't think I'd call it fun for anyone.

Here are a few reasons you should avoid "Daddy's Home" this Christmas.

Crass

Off-colored jokes are nothing new for Will Ferrell and I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that there are some crude jokes and gags in "Daddy's Home," but they feel misplaced.

First of all, it should be noted that I personally don't find low-brow humor all that funny. That's my opinion, so if it's your thing that's fine, but in the context of this film, it just doesn't work. The juxtaposition of a family setting and the adult humor feels awkward and out of place. I think even those who like the more crass humor will feel confused by the placement of some of the jokes.

Let it be said when it comes to Ferrell comedies this is actually pretty tame. It's not his PG films like "Elf" and "Kicking and Screaming," but it's also not as intense as say "Get Hard" or "Anchorman." It would be safe to say that the adult humor falls somewhere in between "Kicking and Screaming" and "The Other Guys."

Forced and not funny

For the hour and a half that the movie lasted, I laughed out loud maybe twice and chuckled a few other times. That's about it. For a comedy, that's not great.

I actually thought "The Other Guys" was a funny film, but Wahlberg and Ferrell couldn't bring back that humor. The jokes are too set up and fall flat, not to mention, forced. I cringed on a few occasions when the humor was so forced. It was uncomfortable, but not in the funny way like the first few seasons "The Office" nailed so perfectly.

If you're headed to the theater for a comedy then it better be funny and "Daddy's Home" just isn't. As much as I truly wanted to enjoy the film and laugh, it just didn't happen.

Unlikable characters

For the most part, it's hard to find characters in this movie you actually like. Ferrell's character gets old and tired pretty fast, you're not supposed to like Wahlberg's character so that's not a huge deal, and you grow to hate Ferrell's on-screen wife Linda Cardellini.

It's not Cardellini's fault, I actually like the actress quite a bit, but her character is kind of an awful person. If that's how my wife treated me, I think our marriage would be in serious trouble. She's supposed to be the moral compass of the film, but the character is anything but.

It's hard to really connect to a film when you don't really like any of its characters.

Overall

"Daddy's Home" has a few moments that will make you laugh, and ultimately it will find an audience, but I was not it. If you're headed to the theater for the holiday weekend I suggest you skip "Daddy's Home" and see "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" one more time. It'd be a better use of your money and time.

John has been writing about movies, news, sports and pretty much anything awesome for more than five years. John is the co-host of the Flix Junkies podcast and will always entertain you with his stories.

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