This second take
on the Baker family in Cheaper By The Dozen 2 lacked much of what made the
first movie interesting enough to rewatch. I remember not liking this
movie much back then, and after seeing it again, I can see why. It was almost
predictable to the core, and that’s because it used the same formula as the
first movie. In the first movie, it starts with an introduction to the big
family, followed by slapstick comedy. Then, chaos ensues with Steve Martin’s
character, Tom, at the center of it, and it eventually settles into a family
working together to overcome the challenges.
Like in the
first Cheaper By the Dozen, Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate (Bonnie Hunt)
are the parents of twelve children. After the relocation almost cracked their
family, by the end of the first movie, they bonded and overcame. Now, the
Bakers face another new challenge: the Murtaughs.
The Murtaughs
are led by parents Jimmy (Eugene Levy) and Sarina (Carmen Electra), who have
eight children. It just so happens that when the Bakers go on a vacation, all
of them together, Tom thinks it will be the last time they’ll all be together.
They meet the Murtaughs, who are also vacationing at the same lake. Jimmy
always finds a reason to show off his wealth and let Tom know that his children
are more successful because his parenting style supersedes Tom's.
Not wanting to
let Jimmy win, Tom takes every opportunity to best him, which usually leads to
the slapstick comedy in this movie. How the trip, meant to bring the family
together, ends up breaking them apart—and how it eventually resolves with Tom’s
rivalry with Jimmy—is what this movie is about.
This time, Shawn
Levy wasn’t directing; instead, he was in the producer’s seat. Although they
focused everyone on the single issue of the characters, the movie lost the
charm of the twelve. It was more about the rivalry between Tom and Jimmy. Their
rivalry dominated the movie to the point that everyone else seemed to be
screaming for attention.
This movie is a
big yawn compared to the first one, and I want to believe that the bad critical
reviews, along with box office earnings only double the movie's budget, are why
this movie never got a third installment under Fox Film Corp. Now that Disney owns
Fox and its movie archive, they might end up doing a reboot.
Anyways, if
you're interested in a fun family movie, the first movie offers much more of
that. This one becomes boring once the slapstick ends and the seriousness of
family bonding takes over.
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