Cheaper By the Dozen
by Shawn Levy
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, Steve Martin, Tom WellingDirector: Shawn Levy
Brand: FOX Home Entertainment
Producer: Aaron Wilder
Writer: Alec Sokolow
Writer: Craig Titley
Writer: Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Writer: Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
Writer: Joel Cohen
Writer: Sam Harper
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
Published: 2004-04-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-04-06
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Cheaper By the Dozen
Movie Review: Funny Family Farce Full of Folly
Summary: 5 Stars
Critically, I think "Cheaper by the Dozen" is worth three stars, but I laughed so hard I must give it five to be honest.
Remember those old Disney movies from the 1960s that were good, clean fun? This is just like Disney used to be, in the farcical style of "Love Bug." There's no fantasy, but there is the improbable 14 person, one dog family.
For a movie to be a "good clean family movie" there must be no adult sensuality scenes, humor every generation will appreciate, and the end of the movie must encourage family love. A little slapstick is appropriate, but no real violence. "Cheaper by the Dozen" has all of that. Outside of one daughter, age 22, living with her boyfriend, the movie sails sharply away from anything scandalous.
When Tom (Steve Martin) is offered his dream job, he gets the chance to make something of himself. His current job is as a football coach at Lincoln College, a small school in central Illinois. The new job, which he takes, is at Illinois Polytechnic University (essentially Northwestern University).
For Tom, the drive is the usual: Could he make it as the coach of a Division I school, especially at his alma mater? He wasn't unsatisfied with his job or his life at Lincoln. The IPU job fell into his lap, but it promised potential accolades he never received as a football player, a big multiyear salary, and the resources only a big school coach has access.
For his family, the sell was hard. Tom pointed out they would have more material things, a relevant concern with a family with a dozen children. A few wore hand-me-downs, and Tom rightfully wanted the best for his brood. Still, the kids loved their home and friends. Leaving that life seemed unimaginable.
They move north to Evanston in a beautiful home with stereotypical aloof wealthy neighbors. No one is friendly. The high school football team teases the oldest boy, Charlie (played by TV 'Superboy' Tom Welling with the same personality but no superpowers).
As if the old lady already had so many children, Kate (Bonnie Hunt) takes off for a few weeks in New York to publish her first book. The family is still acclimating to Chicago and can't bear this loss of parental leadership. Everything falls into humorous disarray.
One downside in considering it as family fare is the attitudes of the children when Kate is gone. Most are selfish and conniving, looking for ways to manipulate their father into returning the family back to their small town lifestyle.
Tom's desire is to have it all -- the good job, the solid family, the wife who can explore her professional goals. His ability to pull it off is where it becomes hilarious, in the manner of "Father of the Bride" and "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles."
Some extremely, gut-hurting funny scenes can be found in "Cheaper by the Dozen," so long as you can tolerate one of the kids slipping in vomit, a dog chewing in an unmentionable area of Hank, a boyfriend (Ashton Krutcher, playing the same personality as "That Seventies Show"), and some pranks that are almost lifted out of "Home Alone."
The movie only toys with the relationship between one family and the Bakers, but seems bent on making a statement "Big city bad, small town good."
"Cheaper by the Dozen" follows a predictable path. No surprises in the plot, the ending or any of the smaller adventures within the subplots. Not everything is realistic, and not every storyline is provided an ending. However, for a fun, silly movie that finishes off with a strong pro-family sentiment, I fully recommend it.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
Summary of Cheaper By the Dozen
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