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Cheaper by the Dozen

Cheaper by the Dozen

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost 3 Stars for Predictability, But It Redeems Itself
Review: I saw this movie recently on the flight back from England. I was a captive and willing audience, and I enjoyed the light entertainment it provided. However, if it weren't for some occasional (and minor) twists from the expected, I don't think I would have much to write about.

First, for those who don't know, the premise of the movie is that two young go-getters - Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate (Bonnie Hunt)- met in college in Chicago and decided to team up together for life. He wanted to be a coach, she wanted to be a sports journalist, and both wanted 8 kids. As things moved along, they had 12 kids, moved to the country, and she stayed at home with the family. As the main story opens up, you find two competent, content and even cheerful parents using assembly line strategies and doses of personal attention to raise this lively brood.

Quickly things change for this overwhelming family, however, as Tom receives his dream job offer and Kate is finally getting her book ('Cheaper By the Dozen') published. Thus, the family up and moves to Chicago (Evanston really), Tom starts the new high-profile job while Kate is asked to go on a publicity tour for her book. And this tour includes the likes of Regis & Kelly along with Oprah (one example of the fantasy elements of the film). Will they be able to keep things together with all this new added pressure?

There is nothing suspenseful or surprising about the outcome. It's a feel-good movie, and it leaves you feeling good, mostly. The predictable disaster-scenarios were a bit much for me, and I would have rather had a bit more time developing some of the kids a bit more.

Things I thought noteworthy were:

- The number of well-known faces on the cast. You have everyone from Steve Martin to Hillary Duff.

- Martin and Hunt particularly shine in this. It was a nice break to have chipper, generous and loving parents, and the Martin/Hunt team filled these roles admirably. With all the parenting movies of the past, I've come to expect stressed out parents with no time, energy, or inclination to enjoy their children, their spouses or their jobs.

- Ashton Kutcher made possibly his most honest statement. He says something like, 'I know I'm not that good an actor. I get my jobs based on my face.' Clearly this is a parody on actors, but as Kutcher's acting reputation is questionable, I was surprised he was scripted to do this (unless someone there had a mean sense of humor).

- There were so many kids in the 10 year old range, it was really hard to keep track of them. However, they put the spotlight on the mastermind Sarah Baker, and that little girl really acted out her role brilliantly.

- I was pleasantly surprised that the Bakers wanted a G-rated household and frowned upon their 22 year old daughter's sleeping with her boyfriend (Kutcher). It seemed quite the reverse of every TV show & film nonchalantly accepting this trend.

- Finally, this is just a technicality from a Chicago area person, but why did they go so far as to put Tom in a big coaching job in Evanston, IL and then call the team the Stallions rather than the Northwestern Wildcats? There were a number of other odd mixtures of reality with unreality that I had to swallow, ultimately realizing that the movie was purely about temporal entertainment.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Most dissapointing movie of the year.
Review: I saw this film thinking it would be good. It was stupid and offensive not to mention cruel.

The story came right out of a crappy sitcom. The parents get a job in the city and have to move away from thier country home. This makes all the kids mad and they all complain that they want to go home. If I wanted to see I could of just stayed home and watched Full House or some other brainless sitcom.

Another thing is the kids on this movie. The oldest sister in the family brings her boyfriend to visit the kids. And for no apparent reason they get thier dog to tear off his crotch. Stupid, cruel, pointless.

DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE! It makes the Dungeons and Dragons movie look like Ben-Hur. Speaking of Ben-Hur, buy it instead of Cheaper By the Dozen. Ben-Hur is exciting, amazing, and morally satisfying. So in conclusion, Cheaper By the Dozen is a piece of trash that no one ever should see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What I want to know is....
Review: I want to know how many pages the script for the movie was.
I am making a movie and ever since i watched Cheaper by the Dozen I really wanted to make a comedy. Steve Martin is ALWAYS funny. Hilary Duff showed great improvment from the Lizzie McGuire shows. My favorite character would be "Sara Baker" the clever one. Always knows what to do to get introuble. This is a wonderful movie. I hope that all of you enjoy it too!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Total Disappointment
Review: I've been a fan of Steve Martin since the days when he used to do comedy with an arrow through his head. I've liked all of his movies until this one. This should have been good, light entertainment, but in reality it is a complete disappointment.

It is difficult to imagine that they could have put together a less appealling or more annoying set of children. Hilary Duff is the worst of the bunch. Even Smallville's hunky Tom Welling is wasted here.

If you think children throwing objects at their teacher, setting people on fire, and roller skating inside at the top of stairs is cute you'll love this. I find it appalling.

The idea that children should have a say in their parents career decisions and that they should sabotage the parent's careers if they don't like the parents choices is offensive.

And the idea that parents can simply walk away from their jobs and still live in a gigantic house is just plain bizarre.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: We're living it
Review: We have 10 children (from newborn to 18 years), so of course, we were drawn to this movie simply to see how they would portray a large family. They certainly went over the top with the mess and ruckus; our house is not like that at all. But as my wife reminded me, they wanted to make an entertaining movie, not a documentary!

We're still waiting to see the original version from the 50's. I hear it bears little resemblance to this version, which shares only the title and the most basic plot elements.

It's a wonderful movie about a loving family who stick together through thick and thin - and that IS just like our family!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Baker's 12
Review: Another year and another re-make. Actually, I never saw the 1950 original, so I have nothing to compare this new one too. A movie like this may not break any new ground or shake the movie industry's fooundations, or stay in the memory long afterwards, but the trip through it to the end is one pleasureable ride. A cotton candy movie. Steve Martin stars as Tom Baker, a small town football coach. He has a wife named Kate(the adorable and always great Bonnie Hunt), and a house full of kids. Quite literally. 12 of them. Ranging from 22(she lives on her own)to pre-school age. Everything is as normal as can be until Tom gets an offer from an old friend to move to Chicago for a big coaching job and a great big new house. Settling in was alredy hard enough, but mom Kate's book based on their family life gets published and she has to go to New York to do the appearances and publicity for it(including a cameo by Regis and Kelly). This leaves Tom to hold down the fort, and with 12 rampaging kids, well, you can guess how it works out. The movie is chaotic and all over the place and the kids are enough to drive anyone to the bottle. Tom Welling of "Smallville" fame plays the oldest at home, Charlie, and his brooding "I hate you" schtick gets old real fast. Still, he has become quite the idol thanks to his show, and he definitley has the presence to become a najor player in feature films. Teen queen Hilary Duff of "Lizzie Maguire" really has nothing to do but look cute and show it off just as she does on her show. Honestly, I didn't see much of a difference between this character and Lizzie. It's kinda hard to actually like the kids(except for the little one they call Fed Ex), and it seems that no one can agree on anything and everyone has to bend over to accomodate eveyone else instead of helping each other to achieve the goals. Still, it ends up in a way you probably saw coming. There's the thing. There is nothing remotely surprising about the movie. We've seen it a hundred times before, but that doesn't mean that a cute, sweet film as enjoyable as this still can't be good and enjoyable if it's down in such a sweet, crowd pleasing way. Steve Martin is perfect for roles like this. His fatherly role in "Parenthood" and both "Father Of The Bride" movies proved this. And were better. Still, he keeps the movie afloat and that is probaby hard to do with such a large cast of mostly little kids. I adore Bonnie Hunt to death, and she lights up everything she is in. Thank god she has a hit show!. Ashton Kutcher has an uncredited role as Hank, the model/actor boyfriend of their oldest daughter Nora, played by Piper Perabo. He was pretty amusing in the small role he had. Points must also go to director Shawn Levy(who also appeared in the movie as the reporter who asked Coach for a comment). Not onyl did he handle the large cast well, but it musn't of been easy wrangling all of the kids. As the outtakes at the end of the movie showed, it must not of been fun all the time. Especially with the little ones. So, points for him!. When all is said and done, not much will be written about the movie, but it is a crowd pleasing, feel good film that is as sweet as cotton candy and tastes just as good going down.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: All-Around Hilarious Movie!
Review: The movie "Cheaper by the Dozen" starring (my favorite) Jacob Smith is a movie about a not-so-ordinary family living in midland. When Tom gets a job offer to coach the Stallions, they pack up and move to chicago. The DVD is sooooooooooo AWESOME!!! there is a commentary with the baker kids and deleted scenes. My favorite scene is any scene with Jacob Smith in it. Well g2g. BYE!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: fun
Review: i loved this movies because it was laugh out loud funny and sweet at the same time. Steve Martin puts in his 2nd best performance. He keeps getting better. First bringing down the house and now this. wow.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Little Something For Everybody
Review: "Cheaper By The Dozen" is a great comedy about the importance of family. When Todd Baker(Steve Martin) lands his dream job of coaching a college football team, he has to move his whole family to Chicago. When his wife(Bonnie Hunt) gets her first book published and has to leave town for a press tour, Todd is faced with the dificult challenge of running a household of 12 kids by himself. The Bakers go through many obstacles that test the strength of their family, including the kids struggling to fit in and Todd's job being threatened. Since there are so many kids ranging in ages from 5 to 18, there is a character that every member of the family can relate to. This movie is humorourous, lighthearted, and unoffensive. The only thing that parents might be concerned about is the eldest daughter(Piper Parabo) and her conceited boyfriend(Ashton Kutcher) do make out for about 3 seconds, before the mom puts a stop to it in a humorous way. There also isn't enough to keep children younger than 6 interested.

This is a very disapointing DVD release. I am glad that Fox put both the widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film in the same box, but there are hardley any special features. I like commentaries, and there are two of them on the DVD, but I want to know more about the making of process. There is an interview with the director and deleted scenes. I would have liked to see interviews with the cast, as well as footage of the fun had on set.

Your whole family should love "Cheaper By The Dozen" because there is a little something for everybody.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: When I think of Steve Martin starring in a movie I jump at the chance to watch it. He is one of my all-time favorite comedians. I was very disappointed that this movie barely got a chuckle out of me. My children have been driving me bonkers to purchase this DVD the moment it came on the market. The huge to-do over this movie really got to them. My 9 year old daughter ended up watching TV in the other room during the last 1/2 hour of this movie. The story line was WAY too predictible, the younger children we were not able to understand their lines (mumbled), and Steve Martin's character seemed more angry and lost then a comedy.My advice is to rent the movie or wait for it to come on HBO.


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