The kids will love it; parents will just have to put up with it.
Cheaper By the Dozen 2 (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:88
Fresh:6
Rotten:82
Average Rating:3.7/10
Consensus: A sequel to a remake, Cheaper 2 wastes its solid cast in scenes of over-the-top, predictable humor.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some crude humor and mild language
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Childrens
Theatrical Release:26-12-2005
Synopsis: Steve Martin returns as the proud patriarch of the Baker family in this sequel to the original CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, based on a book by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth. This time, all... Steve Martin returns as the proud patriarch of the Baker family in this sequel to the original CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, based on a book by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth. This time, all twelve Baker kids and their parents, Tom (Martin) and Kate (Bonnie Hunt), are going on vacation, returning to their summer cabin in Wisconsin for one last hurrah before the kids grow up and go their separate ways. Lorraine (Hilary Duff) is on her way to New York to begin an internship with VOGUE, Nora (Piper Perabo) is hugely pregnant, and the Bakers want to spend some quality time all together for a change. As the family arrives at their old house, however, they realize that some things have changed--and some things never do. Tom's old high school rival, Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy) is now the big man about town, owning much of the surrounding area, and raising his large family in a huge home across the lake from the Bakers'. The longstanding competition between the two families--or at least that of the fathers--mounts over the course of their vacation, as the two men resort to ever nastier tactics of one-upsmanship. Meanwhile, Charlie Baker (Tom Welling) becomes closer with Anne Murtaugh (Jamie King), and Sarah (Alyson Stoner) embarks on her first romance with Eliot Murtaugh (Taylor Lautner). It all comes to a head when the two families face off in a canoeing race, during which they are faced with a decision between loyalty to family and friends, and the competitive edge. [More]
Starring: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Tom Welling
Starring: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Tom Welling, Hilary Duff, Eugene Levy, Alyson Stoner, Forrest Landis, Taylor Lautner, Carmen Electra, Jaime King
Director: Adam Shankman
Director: Adam Shankman
Screenwriter: Sam Harper
Producer: Shawn Levy, Ben Myron
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Cheaper By the Dozen 2
Sequels to comedies usually come with a risk to one's digestive system, and sequels to bad comedies should carry a warning label.
Sequels tend to be stupider by the dozen, and part two is perhaps overshadowed only by the banality and pointlessness of say, Leprechaun 6.
Unfortunately in this instance, more doesn't make merry, only mayhem.
We likely have a sequel because the first Steve Martin family comedy successfully grossed 3½ times its budget by teasing light humor out of family high jinks. That's all fine, but did it have to be set in summer camp-style?
Steve Martin is kind of like your uncle who still gets to play quarterback during the holiday family football game, even though he hasn't thrown a touchdown since 1992.
With three inspired comics -- Martin, Levy and Hunt -- as the adult leads, Cheaper 2 is not an entirely wearing experience. But its predictability borders on the insulting.
Moviegoers who enjoyed the PG anarchy the first time around should find amusement in the second Dozen. If the last picture left you with a migraine and a sense of claustrophobia, the sequel will be another bout of pain.
Unfortunately, this family comedy doesn’t live up to its promising premise.
There is no hilarity, just a couple of veteran funnymen going through the hellishly predictable motions in this unimaginative and unnecessary sequel.
There is a good movie to be made about the difficulties parents have in letting go of their children. Actually, Ron Howard already made that movie. It was called Parenthood and it starred Steve Martin.
If the creators seem lethally bored with their product, most viewers will find their patience tested, too.
The film is at its best when it's not trying to be desperately funny, but that's rare.
Cheaper By the Dozen 2 dishes sweetness and sentimentality in holiday-sized portions. It has its heart in the right place. Too bad it only fitfully locates its funny bone.
In this Hollywood fantasy about a family with 12 kids, nobody does chores, we never see dirty dishes and mom (Bonnie Hunt) is always immaculately groomed, dressed and smiling June Cleaver-style, right down to the tasteful string of pearls.
Jimmy's kids' resentment is noticed only by the keenly attentive Carmen Electra.
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