Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

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

Director:

Shawn Levy

Writers:

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

Stars:

Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	Tom Baker
Bonnie Hunt	...	Kate Baker
Piper Perabo	...	Nora Baker
Tom Welling	...	Charlie Baker
Hilary Duff	...	Lorraine Baker
Kevin G. Schmidt	...	Henry Baker
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

Storyline

The Bakers, a family of 12, move from small-town Illinois to the big city after Tom Baker gets his dream job to coach his alma mater's football team. Meanwhile, his wife also gets her dream of getting her book published. While she's away promoting the book, Tom has a hard time keeping the house in order while at the same time coaching his football team, as the once happy family starts falling apart.

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Plot Keywords:

house | illinois | new job | hiding in a closet | interview | 

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Taglines:

Growing pains? They've got twelve of them!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Im Dutzend billiger

Filming Locations:

357 S. Lorraine Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$752,096 (France) (16 April 2004)

Gross:

$138,614,544 (USA) (4 June 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Robert Simonds Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 94 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mason Williams' musical composition, "Classical Gas", features prominently in this film. Williams was lead writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he hired a fresh-out-of-college Steve Martin -- Martin's first big Hollywood break.

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Goofs

The first time the team meets Tom's kids, there are 2 different players wearing #62 and both are black. Moments later, when the team is outside practicing, you again see a player wearing #62 but now it's a white guy.

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Quotes

Lorraine: Black works Mom. Jesus like had his funeral on Christmas.
Henry Baker: He died on Easter, Barbie!
Jessica Baker: He was resurrected on Easter, moron.

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Crazy Credits

Over the first part of the credits, we see outtakes.

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Connections

References The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)

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Soundtracks

"People Come Together"
Music by Marc Costanzo (as M. Costanzo)
Lyrics by Marc Costanzo (as M. Costanzo) / Philip Rae (as P. Rae) / Divine Styler (as M. Safiyullah) / M. Wilson / Sharon Costanzo (as S. Costanzo) / Jim Post (as J. Post) / Phife Dawg (as M. Taylor) / Q-Tip (as K. Fareed) / Ali Shaheed Muhammad (as A. Muhammed) / Ronnie Foster (as R. Foster)
Performed by Len
Courtesy of Universal Music Canada/DreamWorks Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
(Contains a sample of "Reach Out of the Darkness"
Written by Jim Post (as J. Post)
Performed by Friend and Lover
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Also contains a sample of "Electric Relaxation"
Written by Phife Dawg (as M. Taylor), Q-Tip (as K. Fareed), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (as A. Muhammed)
Performed by A Tribe Called Quest
Also contains a sample of "Mystic Brew"
Written and Performed by Ronnie Foster (as R. Foster)
Courtesy of Jive Records
Under license from BMG Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Not as good as the original, but still very good

Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate Baker (Bonnie Hunt) have a Baker's dozen--children, that is. When Tom, a football coach, gets a job offer to coach a college football team just outside of Chicago, and Kate's book about raising 12 children finally gets a publishing offer, they see bright things for their future. The only problem is that their 12 children do not want to move from their rural Illinois home, and things become nearly disastrous when Kate has to leave for a couple weeks to promote her book.

While I didn't enjoy Cheaper By The Dozen as much as the original version of the film from 1950, the 2003 "re-imagining" is still a 9 out of 10 for me (the original was a 10 out of 10 for me). It's a re-imagining rather than a remake because although the overall plot arc has some similarities, these are two very different films, with very different messages, and very different kinds of families. Both are rather cartoonish, which works for me--I don't require much realism in my films. For anyone who is looking for something primarily believable, Cheaper By The Dozen may not fit the bill.

The major change from the original to the new film is a change from control to near-chaos. In the Baker's case, it doesn't take long to realize that the chaos arises from their lack of disciplining their children. While this may not be realistic (surely anyone planning to have a family this large would realize that discipline and control would be necessary to not have one's home destroyed), it does lead to a lot of comic situations, and that's really the point here. Yes, there is a message in the end about putting family first, but what director Shawn Levy really wants you to do is laugh. My wife and I laughed quite a bit while watching the film, so Levy accomplished his goal with us. My only slight complaint on this end was that some of the funniest material involved the eldest Baker daughter's boyfriend, Hank (Ashton Kutcher), and he just wasn't in the film enough. The material about the Shenk's, neighbors of the Baker's, was also funny and a bit underused. This was the reason for lowering my score 1 point.

The rest of the cast is good, although like the original Cheaper By The Dozen, we barely get to know some of the children, but that's understandable when we have to deal with 14 characters as well as ancillary characters. Steve Martin was excellent, as always (I enjoy his work in even his less popularly appreciated films), and although Hilary Duff (as daughter Lorraine Baker) seemed a bit odd in the context of the family, I enjoyed her performance a lot, also. There's something about her that I like, and it's not just her looks.