As sequels go, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a rarity in that it’s actually better than the film it was spawned by.
Not much better, but certainly not worse, as is often the case with sequels.
There are still plenty of cheap laughs, many of which are at Steve Martin’s expense.
It’s the kind of family-friendly nonsense that appeals to preteens and parents who can see variations of the film’s countless predicaments in their own lives.
In 2003’s Cheaper by the Dozen we met the Bakers.
Dad Tom (Martin), a football coach, and mom Kate (Bonnie Hunt), an author, have 12 children, each one a potential handful.
The first time out, they almost wrecked dad’s career and their new house. It’s two years later and the Baker clan is shrinking.
Eldest daughter Nora (Piper Perabo) is married and due to deliver her baby at any moment.
Against her father’s wishes, sister Lorraine (Hilary Duff) has selected a university in New York instead of Chicago and eldest son Charlie (Tom Welling) is unhappy working in the city and longs for a relaxed, rural setting.
In a last-ditch effort to recall the wonderful days when the family played together, dad coerces them all into spending the Labour Day week at the lake.
It’s a great idea except dad’s oldest rival, Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy), now a millionaire, practically owns the whole area.
The two men immediately square off, pitting their similarly large households against one another.
Levy plays everything very laid back, whereas Martin is in manic overdrive for most of the film.
These are shades of Martin’s wildest, craziest days as if he doesn’t trust the material to hold an audience’s attention.
Carmen Electra plays Sarina, Jimmy’s young, trophy wife. She starts out a buxom bimbo, but gradually morphs into a sensitive, concerned step-parent.
Welling gets a hint of a romance with the eldest Murtaugh daughter (Jaime King) who also prefers a simple life to the one her father has mapped out for her.
The real romantic sparks are between young teens Sarah Baker (Alyson Stoner) and Eliot Murtaugh (Taylor Lautner). The cuteness of the awkward first relationship provides the film with some gentle laughs.
In the final 20 minutes of Cheaper by the Dozen 2, director Adam Shankman and writer Sam Harper trot out the family values and life lessons.
They think it’s necessary to teach the viewer something.
While that’s a noble aspiration, it puts the breaks on the laughs.
