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) (as Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr.), Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (novel)

Stars:

Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff

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 14, 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:

child vomiting | child answering the telephone | flip phone | telephone call | frog in pocket | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shawn Levy: the reporter who asks Tom for a quote.

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Goofs

When Dylan gets up after the chandelier crash, his parents begin to take off his helmet and safety pads; however, he is clearly rolled out the door still on skates and has an elbow pad on his right arm. In the next shot, we see the Shenks walking down the street, and neither the skates nor the pad are anywhere to be seen.

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Quotes

Tom: I promise you. We will be a happier, stronger family.

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Crazy Credits

Ashton Kutcher as Hank appears during the outtakes in the credits, but has no credit of his own.

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: Garfield the Movie (2015)

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Soundtracks

Life Is a Highway
Written and Performed by Tom Cochrane (as Tom Cochran)
Courtesy of EMI Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Only something like the original

There is some resemblance to the original movie in this film (as well as some elements borrowed from the sequel "Belles on their Toes"). The writers did include various ideas such as the move for the father's job, the family council, the father being offered the opportunity of his dreams, the father being a somewhat eccentric and unusual character, the mother being the calm one, etc. It also borrows just as much from sixties family comedies such as "Yours, Mine, and Ours" (i.e. the son that feels left out in the family group, the older brother who give "cool" advice to the younger ones, the kids trying to "sabotage" various events, etc.).

This version lacks something that the original one had. The original moved along with the pace of the changes in the family's life as normal life does. It also seemed to capture better the idea of trying to raise such a large group of children and the sacrifices and choices one has to make. There is also some semblance of what it is like to be a child in this family by keeping that focus on only one of the children, while still giving us glimpses of what the other ones are like.

The film, however, seemed to be more of a showcase for the comedic talents of Steven Martin than anything else. It also didn't move along in the same way that the original making the story somewhat unsatisfying.

Frank Gilbreth never lost the idea that his family was the most important thing where as Steve Martin's character has to be brought back into the fold. It is understandable that he would want something for himself, but to get him to the point where he sees his children as a burden and a liability is a problem. Thankfully in the end he comes back to being a part of his family, but the fact that he had to be causes the story to loose some of its charm.

The thing that made Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth want to write about their family was the joy that they knew in living in it despite the trials and tribulations. In this version of their story the joy seems to be lost and has to be recaptured. The director and writer are lucky enough that at least a little bit does.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cheaper by the Dozen

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,557,647, 28 December 2003

Gross USA:

$138,614,544

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$190,538,630

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Robert Simonds Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 94 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) Dolby Digital (Dolby Digital 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (D-Cinema prints) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1