Cheaper By the Dozen: Review

Sure, Cheaper By the Dozen came out 6 years ago ... old news right? Let's just say that it's still rather quite recent considering the fact that I watched many movies before I was even born! So was Cheaper By the Dozen really that funny when it was one of the high grossing blockbuster of 2003?

The movie is really really loosely based on the 1950's film and book of the same title. It features the Baker Family, the family of 12 children. Tom (Steve Martin), Kate (Bonnie Hunt) and their family started out as one big family who lived in a small rural town of Midland to raise the 12 kids. However, one day, Tom received his dream job to coach the Stallions in a suburb near Chicago. As the parents invested more and more time into their careers and Kate leaving for New York for her new book, the kids starts revolting. Would Tom be able to manage both the homefront and on the field?

Cheaper By the Dozen is really a great movie with tons of laughs. Actor Steve Martin is one of the finest comedians in Hollywood to date along with personalities like Robbin Williams and Ben Stiller. Martin's lastest performance in the Pink Panther 2 was stellar and obviously we can tell that the comedic approach in the Cheaper By the Dozen movies permeated into the Pink Panther movies. Aside from the laughters, the movie makes you feel really sorry for the parents having so many kids as things can really go wild and would be a large nightmare for many parents. Aside from Steve Martin, there's other famliar figures in the movie such as Hilary Duff (A Cinderella Story), Morgan York (The Pacifier) and Alyson Stoner (Camp Rock). These actresses basically launched their movie careers through this movie series. Hilary Duff is always seen as a fashionable teenager regardless of the movie she's casted into. Morgan York is that cheery girl that can get crazy at times, as it was quite evident in her role as Sarah in Disney's Hannah Montana (albeit her role was creepy). I think Alyson Stoner is a lot like Selena Gomez, they are always casted in a role that is either sassy, devious and/or sarcastic. That is for me, why both are my favourite actresses. This is absolutely true with the underwear soaked in meat sauce scene. It's also interesting to see that these three girls also share a common background ... they are all Disney stars or worked in many Disney projects.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't always flow as it may seem like the kids don't get too much dialog. Most of the dialog comes from the adults which I feel makes the story a bit one sided. Sure, the kids revolt, but they don't really convey much of their feelings. The only real time that time that their emotions are conveyed individually is from the older siblings. Also, sometimes the movie seem a bit blocky and doesn't flow too well. In addition, I don't think Duff, York and Stoner actually did their best in this movie, I believe the movies that I bracketed were their best performances.

Aside it's shortcomings, it's a very enjoyable family comedy.

Rating: 3/5
Genre: Comedy
Regulatory Rating: G
Publisher: 20th Century Fox