Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Shawn Levy

Writers (WGA):

Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. (novel) and
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (novel) ...

Release Date:

25 December 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

This Christmas The More... The Scarier!

Plot:

With his wife doing a book tour, a father of twelve must handle a new job and his unstable brood.

Plot Keywords:

Vanity | Bathroom Scene | Teenage Boy | Sibling Rivalry | Overweight Child

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Tom Baker
Bonnie Hunt	...	Kate Baker
Piper Perabo	...	Nora Baker
Tom Welling	...	Charlie Baker
Hilary Duff	...	Lorraine Baker
Kevin Schmidt	...	Henry Baker (as Kevin G. Schmidt)
Alyson Stoner	...	Sarah Baker
Jacob Smith	...	Jake Baker
Liliana Mumy	...	Jessica Baker
Morgan York	...	Kim Baker
Forrest Landis	...	Mark Baker
Blake Woodruff	...	Mike Baker
Brent Kinsman	...	Nigel Baker
Shane Kinsman	...	Kyle Baker
Paula Marshall	...	Tina Shenk

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

98 min | Germany:94 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #40326) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Brazil:Livre | Portugal:M/6 | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:5 | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When Hank (Ashton Kutcher) gestures to his face ("This is the moneymaker!"), the motion he makes is the American Sign Language sign for "beautiful".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Tom is looking in the phone book for a babysitter, one of the close shots is flipped (reversed).

Quotes:

Kate: You need a paramedic?
Tom: No, just a pair o' knees.

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

Classical Gas

Amusing family comedy

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