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) ...
(more)

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:

Illinois | New Job | House | Frog | Large Family

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 21	1:00 AM	TBS
Tue. July 21	10:00 AM	TBS

Cast

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
Steven Anthony Lawrence	...	Dylan Shenk
Alan Ruck	...	Bill Shenk
Richard Jenkins	...	Shake
Holmes Osborne	...	Nick Gerhard
Vanessa Bell Calloway	...	Diana Philips
Rex Linn	...	Coach Bricker
David Kelsey	...	Assistant Coach
Dax Shepard	...	Camera Crew Member
Elon Gold	...	Camera Crew Member #2
Cody Linley	...	Quinn
Adam Taylor Gordon	...	Cooper
Julie Araskog	...	Radio Talk Show Host (as Julie Kay Araskog)
Benjamin Fitch	...	Reporter
Antonio Vega	...	Police Officer
David Bowe	...	TV Interviewer
Kevin Carey	...	Reporter #2
Ossie Mair	...	Cabbie
Amy Hill	...	Miss Hozzie
Ted Rooney	...	Principal
Joel McCrary	...	Gil
Tiffany Dupont	...	Beth
Shawn Levy	...	Press Room Reporter
Dylan S. Shults	...	Party Kid
Regis Philbin	...	Himself
Kelly Ripa	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eileen Brennan	...	Mrs. Drucker (DVD deleted scene) (uncredited)
Merris Carden	...	Teen Nora Baker (uncredited)
Wayne Knight	...	Electrician (uncredited)
Ashton Kutcher	...	Hank (uncredited)
Jared Padalecki	...	Bully (uncredited)
Gary Pike	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Shawn Levy

Writing credits (WGA)
Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.		(novel "Cheaper by the Dozen") (as Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr.) and
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey		(novel "Cheaper by the Dozen")
Craig Titley		(screen story)
Sam Harper		(screenplay) and
Joel Cohen		(screenplay) &
Alec Sokolow		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Barnathan	....	producer
Dustin Bernard	....	line producer
Carrie Brody	....	assistant producer
Ben Myron	....	producer
Ira Shuman	....	co-producer
Robert Simonds	....	producer
Aaron Wilder	....	development executive

Original Music by
Christophe Beck

Cinematography by
Jonathan Brown

Film Editing by
George Folsey Jr.

Casting by
Nancy Klopper

Production Design by
Nina Ruscio

Art Direction by
Scott Meehan

Set Decoration by
K.C. Fox

Costume Design by
Sanja Milkovic Hays

Makeup Department
Jody Burton	....	hair stylist
Frank Griffin	....	hair stylist: Steve Martin (as Frank H. Griffin Jr.)
Frank Griffin	....	makeup artist: Steve Martin (as Frank H. Griffin Jr.)
Norma Lee	....	hair stylist
Richard Lipinski	....	hair stylist: Bonnie Hunt
Lydia Milars	....	makeup department head
Patricia Miller	....	key hair stylist
Ned Neidhardt	....	additional makeup artist
Douglas Noe	....	key makeup artist
Karen Scales	....	makeup artist: Bonnie Hunt (as Karen J. Scales)

Production Management
Dustin Bernard	....	unit production manager
Demetra Diamantopoulos	....	production supervisor
Patrick Esposito	....	post-production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard S. Lederer	....	second assistant director: Chicago second unit
Brian Relyea	....	second assistant director
Marty Eli Schwartz	....	first assistant director
Catherine Petra Villalobos	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Will Batts	....	set designer
Richard Baum	....	set dresser: Northern California
Matt Callahan	....	buyer
Susan Chooljian	....	art department coordinator
Doug Crawford	....	propmaker
Shannon Curfman	....	lead person (as Shannon Curfman-Dayan)
Jann K. Engel	....	set designer
Stephanie Gilliam	....	set designer
Mark Haber	....	set designer
Dale Haugo	....	scenic artist: Northern California
Gabriel Higgins	....	property master
Allyson Hollingsworth	....	art assistant
Sean House	....	set dresser: Northern California
Matthew C. Kime	....	assistant property master
William F. Matthews	....	set designer
Kris Nagle	....	welder foreman
Steven O'Bannon	....	labor foreman
Jason Puga	....	painter
Steve Roll	....	propmaker
John H. Samson	....	construction coordinator
David Scott	....	graphic designer
Jonathan Woods	....	storyboard artist
Ilya Seperich	....	additional props (uncredited)

Sound Department
James Bolt	....	sound re-recording mixer
Derek Casari	....	adr engineer
Andrew DeCristofaro	....	supervising sound editor
Marc Deschaine	....	adr assistant
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer
David Esparza	....	sound effects editor
Dawn Fintor	....	foley artist
Kevin Globerman	....	digital recordist
Tim Gomillion	....	sound recordist
Michael Hoffman	....	sound mixer: B unit
Jason Johnston	....	cable person
Steve Mann	....	sound editor
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim McColm	....	re-recording engineer
Nancy Nugent	....	dialogue supervisor (as Nancy Kyong Nugent)
David Obermeyer	....	sound mixer
Michael Payne	....	sound effects editor
Thomas A. Payne	....	boom operator
Stephen P. Robinson	....	sound effects editor
Dennis Rogers	....	sound recordist
John C. Stuver	....	dialogue editor
Becky Sullivan	....	supervising adr editor

Special Effects by
Robert DeVine	....	special effects technician: stunt frog puppet
David P. Kelsey	....	special effects director (as David Kelsey)

Visual Effects by
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Chris Hopkins	....	3D artist
Heather Ignarro	....	production coordinator
Ken Locsmandi	....	animator/modeler
Robert Nall	....	digital artist
Roger Nall	....	digital effects artist: 11:11 MediaWorks
Marco S. Paolini	....	digital compositor
Tommy Tran	....	digital effects artist

Stunts
Joe Childs	....	utility stunts
Sophia Crawford	....	utility stunts
John Dixon	....	stunts
David Hugghins	....	stunt rigger
Michael Hugghins	....	stunts
Gita Isak	....	stunts
Brandon Molale	....	stunt actor
Michael Munoz	....	stunt double: kid
Ernie F. Orsatti	....	stunt coordinator
Rowbie Orsatti	....	stunts
Clark Tucker	....	stunt double: Wayne Knight

Camera and Electrical Department
Danny Barfield	....	best boy grip
Tracy Bennett	....	still photographer
Hans Bjerno	....	aerial director of photography
Kirk Bloom	....	second assistant camera
John Bratlien	....	rigging electrician
Erik L. Brown	....	first assistant camera
Damon Doherty	....	key rigging grip
Tulio Duenas	....	film loader
Adam Harrison	....	electrician
Jay M. Huntoon	....	digital video assist operator
Elizabeth Miller	....	second assistant camera (as Elizabeth Smith)
Juan Morse	....	electrician
Anthony G. Nakonechnyj	....	gaffer
Paul Plannette	....	first assistant camera
Landon Ruddel	....	grip
Thomas J. Ruffner	....	dolly grip
Mark Sadler	....	set lighting
Jorge Sánchez	....	assistant camera
Ronald Schlueter	....	video assist
Larissa Supplitt	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Sam Urdank	....	still photographer
Andy Young	....	best boy rigging grip

Casting Department
Justine Hempe	....	casting associate
Sharon D. King	....	extras casting: local
Terri Kinney	....	extras casting
Jeff Olan	....	extras casting
Tony Rasmussen	....	extras casting
Bryan Riley	....	casting assistant
Jacquie Schmall	....	extras casting
Tim Sullivan	....	extras casting
Randi Acton	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Suzy Magnin	....	costume assistant
Lawrence Quon	....	set costumer
Lani Reynolds	....	costumer: Bonnie Hunt
Irena Stepic	....	key costumer
Don Vargas	....	costumer: Steve Martin

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Alexander Garcia	....	assistant editor
Lonnie A. Mathes	....	post-production assistant
Dennis McNeill	....	color timer (as Denny McNeill)
Brad E. Wilhite	....	first assistant editor
Nadav Streett	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Mike Deasy	....	musician
Hilary Duff	....	music crew
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Dave Jordan	....	music supervisor
Andrew Kaiser	....	composer: additional music
Kevin Kliesch	....	orchestrator
Mike Nowak	....	conductor
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer
Ceiri Torjussen	....	orchestrator
Jojo Villanueva	....	music coordinator
Terry Wilson	....	music editor
Peter Erskine	....	musician (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Lewis Burnett	....	driver: honeywagon
Margo Hunt	....	driver
Ron Kunecke	....	transportation captain
William Lubin	....	driver
Rhonda Martin	....	transportation office coordinator
Joe Vanis	....	transportation coordinator
Bryce Guy Williams	....	transportation coordinator
Bonnie Yamahiro	....	driver

Other crew
Kyle Alexander	....	assistant location manager
Valentina Aulisi	....	assistant: Steve Martin
Paul Belenardo	....	production accountant
Allan Bragg	....	stand-in: Steve Martin
Carrie Brody	....	assistant production coordinator
Starr Buttler	....	production assistant
Tim Clark	....	production secretary
Mike Crotty	....	production assistant
Heather Deaton	....	assistant: Robert Simonds
Diane Durant	....	script supervisor
Glen Evans	....	production assistant
Heidi Falconer	....	publicist
Mary-Rachel Foot	....	stand-in
Josh Geller	....	set production assistant
Marc C. Geschwind	....	extras coordinator
Rhona Gordon	....	studio teacher
Seth William Hansen	....	additional set production assistant
Jeffrey Harris	....	assistant post-production accountant
Sue Jennings	....	production coordinator
Nicki Johnson	....	assistant coordinator
Greg Kappy	....	assistant location manager
Mark Kelly	....	production secretary
Christian Krieger	....	assistant location manager
Stephen Mapel	....	location manager
Gordon T. Martin	....	tow generator operator
Joe Morganella	....	production assistant
Alexander Nicolas	....	marketing
Kevin O'Neil	....	production assistant
Gene A. Roepke	....	assistant: Shawn Levy
Karen Shane	....	second assistant accountant
David Simmer	....	assistant: Ben Myron
B.J. Smith	....	medic
Rick S. Sulier	....	post-production accountant
Karla Torres	....	production assistant
Ilene Waterstone	....	executive assistant: Steve Martin
Paige Wilbanks	....	production assistant
Marijan Zoric	....	chef
Dawn Barkan	....	animal trainer (uncredited)
Melinda Eichberg	....	animal trainer (uncredited)
Paul Sarran	....	location production assistant (uncredited)
Donna Tegan	....	additional set production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Robert Simonds Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Italia (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2004) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Castello Lopes Multimedia (2004) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Gemini Film (2004) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (VHS)
• Fox Network (2006) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Gativideo (200?) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (200?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• RTL Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing) (RTL7)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• 11:11 Mediaworks (additional visual effects)
• Digital Filmworks (special visual effects)

Other Companies

• 20th Century Fox Studios  post-production facilities
• American Eagle Studios  extras casting
• BeBee  night lighting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• City of Chicago  special thanks
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• Jeff Olan Casting  extras casting
• L.A. Mad Dogs  adr voice casting
• Movie Movers  production trailers
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Movie Movers  transportation
• Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Studios, The  score recording
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services
• Sonoma County Film Commission, The  special thanks (as Sonoma Film Commission)
• Soundelux  sound design and editing

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:

At the beginning of the movie, Kate reveals the title of her new book to be "Cheaper By The Dozen". Although this movie is loosely based on a book by that title about a real-life family, the book was written by one of the sons, Frank B. Gilbreth Jr., along with his sister, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. Although this film is based on that same book that inspired the 1950 film (Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)), the only element it retains from the original is the idea of there being 12 children in one family. Even the names of the characters are changed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Kate opens the closet doors, she flinches before the toys fall on her.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Version of Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

Soundtrack:

Classical Gas

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.