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Cheaper by the Dozen
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Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 77 | slideshow) Videos (see all 11)
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.
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) -- The family is attacked by a frog during dinner.
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) -- Home Video Preview
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) -- Home Video Preview
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.

Overview

User Rating:
5.6/10   21,251 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Shawn Levy
Writers (WGA):
Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. (novel) and
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (novel) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Cheaper by the Dozen on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 December 2003 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Family more
Tagline:
This Christmas The More... The Scarier! more
Plot:
With his wife doing a book tour, a father of twelve must handle a new job and his unstable brood. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
2 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(31 articles)
Catherine Keener Is Mum Of A Demi-God
 (From EmpireOnline. 16 April 2009, 12:24 AM, PDT)

MacGyver: Watch Jared Padalecki as the Hero's Nephew, Young MacGyver
 (From TVSeriesFinale. 17 March 2009, 1:24 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
'Name Only' Remake of 1950 Classic is Warm, Funny Film... more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

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 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, playing the parents of 12 children, have zero children between them in real life. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Hank is falling into the pool of water he drops the apple, but in the next shot in still holding it. more
Quotes:
Nora: Oh honey, there just welcoming you into the family.
Hank: They set me on fire.
Nora: Just your pants.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Knocked Up (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree more

FAQ

Chapter Headings, an official version:
more
27 out of 40 people found the following comment useful:-
'Name Only' Remake of 1950 Classic is Warm, Funny Film..., 28 March 2004
Author: Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada

While the CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN opening titles credit the authors of the best-selling book the original 1950 film was based on (Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey), don't expect to see a remake of the charming, early-20th century comedy about two efficiency experts (Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy) running a complex but happy family...and this is not a BAD thing!

While the 1950 production is a minor classic, the thrust of the earlier film was with the parents, and oldest daughter (the late Jeanne Crain). Clifton Webb was a gifted, acerbic actor, best known, previously, as 'child hating' author Lynn Belvedere, who proved he was as adept at raising children as he was at EVERYTHING he attempted, in the 1948 hit, SITTING PRETTY. The film was such a success that two sequels were made, and Webb would do several more 'family' comedies before his death in 1966. Playing Frank Bunker Gilbreth, the father of twelve, was a 'natural' for the actor, and the 61-year old Webb 'stole' the film with his self-effacing, 'scientific' approach to child rearing. As his wife, Lillian, Myrna Loy, who had graduated from being 'Nora Charles' in the "Thin Man" series, to being Hollywood's favorite wife/mom, shared Bonnie Hunt's sweetness, sense of organization, and dry humor, but lacked a sexual chemistry with Webb that would have actually produced twelve children (perhaps because of the less 'permissive' time the film was made, or perhaps because of Webb's screen persona). Jeanne Crain, one of 20th Century Fox's favorite ingénues for over six years, had a large fan base, which the studio capitalized on (She was actually second-billed in the film, behind Webb). Her scene at a 1920's prom, with Webb as her 'date', is a film highlight. While the eleven other children were given 'moments' in the film, they barely registered, individually.

Would 2003 audiences have gone to see Martin in a period comedy set eighty years earlier? I doubt it. And had the original story had been simply 'updated', would it have been truly faithful to the source, even in spirit? Unlikely, as so much has changed over the years. Ultimately, the film makers erred, I believe, in using the title of the earlier film, but not in the approach of making a 'family-friendly' comedy about a household of massive proportions.

With Steve Martin, who has become Hollywood's quintessential 'Dad', as a loving, unconventional father/football coach given an opportunity to head his alma mater's team, he displays the same kind of sensitivity that made PARENTHOOD such a wonderful film. Bonnie Hunt, as his wife, is completely believable as a successful author who could handle her large family and still-frisky husband equally well. She is, as always, a treasure!

The children are really the stars of the film, though, and each is special, and individual, from the eldest daughter (Piper Perabo), who, at 22, wants the family to accept the guy she's living with (Ashton Kutcher, in a funny, brief role), to the youngest pair of twins (Brent and Shane Kinsman), who make an art out of wreaking havoc. Tom Welling is quite likable, and proves that he is more than just 'Clark Kent' (For you trivia fans, Kutcher almost got the part of 'Superman' in an upcoming film, which would have put two 'Men of Steel' in the cast). The only discordant note is Hillary Duff's annoyingly brittle second daughter; she may be a 'teen idol', but she is more grating than endearing.

Director Shawn Levy's previous film, JUST MARRIED, was a loud, unpleasant, clichéd bore; in CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, he redeems himself with a more enjoyable, richer film.

While the movie will never earn the 'classic' status the earlier film achieved, it stands very well on it's own merits!

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