Cheaper by the Dozen

A fairly amusing family comedy, with almost no relation to the book or the earlier film with this title. Steve Martin plays the father of the group of 12 kids who uproots them all to move to the big city where a football coaching job awaits.. suddenly the mom (an amusingly bemused Bonnie Hunt) gets called away on a book tour and dad has to raise all the kids himself. Interesting casting has Piper Perabo (star of the gloriously underrated "Coyote Ugly") as the oldest daughter, Hillary Duff as the teenage daughter, Tom Welling (of TV's "Smallville") as the oldest son and Ashton Kutcher taking an unbilled role as Piper's live-in boyfriend.. and poking fun at himself in the process. The rest of the kids are mostly of the unknown but cute variety,... and the kids get most of the laughs with their various schemes and screw ups along with Martin's reactions to it all. The ending drags a bit as things start to get serious and the family is on the verge of falling apart, but as long as it sticks to the pratfalls the film can be very amusing. GRADE: B

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source: Cheaper by the Dozen

Cheaper by the Dozen

This is one of those films that people in situations that are unrealistic, and saying corny things that nobody would say, doing things that people don't do, just to amuse young children. Too much of the dialogue in this is cheesy, and it builds up making this film just annoying to watch. Kids probably won't mind because they don't expect much from a movie. I think Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt are quite good, but they have so little to work with, especially since neither of them has very funny material and all of the humor goes to the kids, and to my next high point, Ashton Kutcher. He was very funny in this movie as the lazy boyfriend who wants to be an actor. I recommend this to the kids, but adults can just sleep through it. My rating: * 1/2 out of ****. 100 mins. PG for crude humor.

When watching this movie one is reminded of the word insipid. This movie is appropriate for pre-school age children who have absolutely nothing else to do and would prefer watching images of kids and parents acting silly. Yes, silly is another word that applies to this movie. It is light fare, so light that it floats like a feather, going from one silly scene to another. Oh, another word to describe this movie is cute. Cute is nice but is it entertaining? Is it dramatic? Is it funny? The answer to all three questions is an emphatic no. A movie that cannot be taken seriously is either campy or a comedy and while this movie is not campy it isn't particularly funny either. Other words to describe this movie are schmaltzy, hokey and corny. This movie has the dramatic power of a fair weather cloud. Even Steve Martin cannot rescue this movie from the clutches of banality which can bring even the resolute movie watcher to the brink of boredom and even beyond, to the world of sleep. Zzzzzzzzz.

I wasn't expecting much & I got even less. Watch this movie if you enjoy looking at a bunch of useless, selfish, snarling brats mouth off & sabotage their parents goals & aspirations. This film pulls out as many clichés as it can. We've seen all of this before. It's so boring! Like a too long, awful sitcom. Bonnie Hunt really annoys me, & Steve Martin is as tired as the day is long. His schtick is way past it's expiration date. Another thing that irked me was casting Tom Welling & Ashton Kutcher who look too similar. The laughs are non-existent & the "feel good" moments will make you nauseous. Check out "With Six You Get Eggroll" (with Doris Day), or "Your's, Mine, & Ours" (with Lucille Ball) instead.

I did like this movie in general. There are some funny moments and the performances are spirited from the entire cast. Unfortunately, although as a remake it is acceptable it does have its weak spots. I didn't feel as though it had the charm of the original, by that I mean that doesn't quite have the irreverence and likability that made the original so endearing. There are some pacing problems and major discrepancies in the screenplay, plus the direction wasn't as strong as it could have been. On the whole though, it is not too bad. There is some nice scenery and camera work. The performances from the cast are fun; Steve Martin does very well in the title role, and the ensemble of children have strong chemistry. And despite the weak script, there are some funny moments, like the mince-in-the-trousers part. And there are some heart-warming parts like the ending. Overall, flawed but acceptable. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I love this rambunctious family comedy just how it is. I noticed it got a lot of hate which is unfortunate & Steve Martin really did an outstanding job in my opinion. I think it's heartwarming & fun in many ways; it's good to appreciate things the way they are instead of what isn't.