"POINT OF REVIEW"


Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
Starring Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, and a lot of kids
Written by Craig Titley & Directed by Shawn Levy


This movie made me feel all warm and fuzzy all over. It reminded me of being a kid again and it made me want to be a parent one day. “You’re crazy,” is probably what you are saying -- how could you want to have kids after watching a movie about a family that has twelve kids that practically tear the house down. Let’s just say that I felt the love. The love of a tight-knit family and the love that went into making this heartfelt and funny movie.

Cheaper by the Dozen is a remake of the 1950’s movie of the same name, which amazingly was based on a true story of a family with twelve kids. This remake, unlike many others we have seen as of late due to the creative dry-spell in Hollywood, is actually really well done and can stand on its own. Steve Martin is perfect as Tom Baker (get it? Baker’s dozen), a loving father (ironically Martin does not have any kids in real life) that gave up on his dreams of coaching his old college football team years ago in order to raise a family the old-fashioned way in the country. Bonnie Hunt is equally as perfect (also does not have kids in real life) as his wife Kate and mother of the twelve kids (she still looks amazingly good somehow, a joke throughout the movie) and also a parent who has given up on her big-city dreams. Together they somehow manage to make everything work while raising a long list of children played by some big names such as Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, and Tom Welling. Keeping track of all the kids is virtually impossible, but watching them get into mischief is great fun. Things are perfect for the Bakers, but then Tom gets a job offer to finally coach for his college team and Kate gets a publishing deal like she always dreamed of and they both pursue their aspirations much to their kids’ dismay. The movie does a good job of dealing with all the growing pains a family must go through when their kids reach a certain age and it makes you envious of the ease at which they are handled by the Bakers. Sigh -- if only real life were like a movie.

I know, I know, Cheaper by the Dozen is not a cutting edge Indie movie and it is not incredibly ground breaking or anything -- but it is one hell of a family movie. And really, at the end of the day, don’t we all long for a solid, well-done family movie sometimes. I think so. So whether you are a parent, a kid, or just an adult who still feels like a kid sometimes -- Cheaper by the Dozen won’t disappoint you like real life often times does.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: A solid funny and heartfelt family movie.

The Bad: May be a little sweet for strictly black coffee drinkers.

The Law: Cheaper by the Dozen is guaranteed to entertain, unlike reality based families.