Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
Cheaper by the Dozen is a typical Steve Martin movie funny enough to be worth watching, but not funny enough to be worth watching twice.
The premise is pretty straightforward Tom (Martin) and Kate (Bonnie Hunt) Baker had big dreams when they met him to coach a big football team, she to be a sports journalist but these dreams had to be put on indefinite hold when babies began to arrive. Having grown up with seven siblings, Tom wanted a big family and Kate, whose only sister died when she was still very young, has no objections to that. So they decide to have eight children but it ends up as a round dozen.
Having sacrificed everything for their family, both Tom and Kate suddenly find themselves with the chance to take their careers to previously undreamt of levels. This means moving, seeing less of the family, etc and that, of course, is where the troubles really begin. In the end Tom and Kate must make a decision will their careers, or their family, come first?
Its all pretty predictable stuff, with enough funny moments to make it worth watching and a generally good performance by Steve Martin. The kids are quite good, and despite the presence of Hilary Duff, I didnt find them too annoying overall. Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) is third-billed (as the oldest daughter, Nora) but I found her character largely superfluous though as her boyfriend, Ashton Kutcher surprised me no end by being genuinely funny. Bonnie Hunt proves to be a good foil for Martin, and part of the reason this turned out to be a better film than Id expected was that there wasnt a huge reliance on slapstick for the humour occasionally the dialogue was funny as well. (There was a fair amount of slapstick but it wasnt overwhelming.) The plot well, nothing really happened that was unexpected, but then did you really expect it to? (Yes, that is a trick question )
Director Shawn Levy does a reasonable job with this one, its certainly a lot better than his earlier Just Married, which starred Kutcher opposite Brittany Murphy. Its amusing in several places (though its never hilarious), and the sentimental parts are kept fairly few and thus retain their effectiveness. A lively soundtrack helps things along and while it does lose its way a little once theyve actually moved house, theres enough here to keep both kids and adults relatively happy. The early part of the movie promises more than the film eventually delivers, but as light, fluffy entertainment goes, its not too bad. Recommended to watch once, but only once.
Other Information
Rating: PG (UK & US)
Runtime: 98 minutes
Resemblance to the 1950s version: I have no idea, Ive never seen it!
Quotes
Kate: Mike, you have show-and-tell today. Please honey, remember body parts do not count.
Mark: Have you seen my frog dad?
Tom: Sorry, Charlie, er, Nigel, Kyle.
Mark: It's Mark.
Tom: I knew that.
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