Cheaper by the Dozen
Families are hard. No matter what number they are. Whether you are a lonely child or have siblings, nothing messes up a person more than the people we are forced to share our lives with. And before this starts sounding like a Jeremy Kyle opening for one of his “poke fun at the chavs” shows, this is all said with love and care. Now imagine living in one of those families where your home is filled to the brim with siblings. It’s a difficult situation but luckily the Baker’s are here to help with 2003 family comedy, Cheaper by the Dozen.
Kate and Tom Baker (Bonnie Hunt and Steve Martin) are a married couple who have the unfortunate curse of being ridiculously fertile. Instead of producing just a few sprogs, their bedroom habits have lead to conceiving 12 children. The family life in a cramped house, bursting into arguments and fights at every opportunity as Kate and Tom try to control their unruly children. When Tom gets a new job and moves them from their home to a much bigger and better home with a great job opportunity, the children are in uproar at having to leave their friends. And after Kate’s book about their family life gets published, Tom finds it hard to balance his new job, his family and his wives success. Is 12 too much to handle?
Why is it Bad?
Cheaper by the Dozen falls into all the unwanted rules of family comedy that you stop enjoying at a certain age. Riddled with slapstick comedy, children running amok and lots of shouting, Cheaper by the Dozen is the colourful film that will leave your kids giggling but you reaching for the headache tablets. As a toad gets into all sorts of complicated situations, there is a genuine sense that you are going to subjected to nearly two hours of children hitting each other and getting their own way with whining, pouting and fake tears. And when Kate leaves, isn’t it just hilarious to see Tom out of his water? No, not it isn’t and when Ashton Kutcher rears his head as Nora, the oldest’s, pig headed buffoon of a boyfriend, you are tearing your head at the predictability and the excruciating situations that the family are getting themselves into. It also birthed a sequel....
Why is it Good?
Can I just sit here and marvel for a little bit how at the end Cheaper by the Dozen is one of those few movies that smashes a few stereotypes? While Tom, the man, may struggle with the large family while his wife departs on the book tour, he actually mans up and takes control of his children by quitting his great job to look after them. And Kate is actually the high flying professional who stands up for herself the minute Tom starts accusing her of leaving them. There is actually a brilliant moment when Tom’s employers accuse him of not wearing the trousers and being “hen pecked” by the wife to which Kate turns around and slams them down with one sentence...
Didn’t expect that from your average family movie? In fact, Cheaper by the Dozen may have its faults but at the very heart, and there is a lot of heart here, it never asks any of our family members to compromise. Each character has a different personality that everyone accepts willingly. Though they might fight and argue, when one is in trouble, they all band together full of support and that is really something. If you are a sensitive soul, then you will feel yourself tearing up at the end because it hits your right in your emotion.
While it may strain along for the majority of the movie, in the last moments, Cheaper by the Dozen breathes a refreshing warmth and injects it into the audiences. While you may groan, it definitely has at least twelve good reasons for watching.
TTFN
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