“Cheaper By the Dozen 2” (20th Century Fox)
Hail, hail the gangs all here! Every single one of those kids and their parents return in the sequel to 2003’s Steve Martin/Bonnie Hunt starrer “Cheaper By the Dozen.” In “Cheaper By the Dozen 2” the entire Baker family goes on vacation at Lake Winnetka and meets up with Dad Baker’s old rival Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy).
The movie starts off a little slow with a brief introduction to the Bakers and their twelve kids. Then things pick up a little as they move to the lake and their vacation. It kicks into high gear with the meeting with Murtaugh and his wife and eight kids, and goes into sentimentality overdrive as the competition heats up.
Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt are perfectly cast as the Bakers who have a dozen kids. They have good chemistry together, and for a couple of actors who have never been parents in real life they exude parental love and concern. I guess that is why it is called acting.
Levy, and of all people Carmen Electra, are also fun as the Murtaughs. They provide a nice counterpoint to the squeaky clean Bakers. Hunt even becomes sexier when placed in the company of Electra.
Tom Welling, Piper Perabo and Hilary Duff are the main stars who return as Baker kids. Plus those deadly twins from TV’s “Desperate Housewives” are also in the mix. None of these are outstanding but Duff makes an impression by looking totally anorectic. Somebody slip her a burger and fries – quick!
The movie is rated PG for some mildly crude humor.
What saves the movie is the acting of Martin and Hunt as well as a sentimentality that slips over from Martin’s “Father of the Bride” days. When Martin as Baker is grieving the loss of his family unit there isn’t a soul in the audience who can’t relate. And Martin can make it as sweet and as plaintive as possible. That’s what gets to you and that is what makes “Cheaper By the Dozen 2” a family movie that can be enjoyed by all.
It isn’t the greatest movie ever made but it is still one that families can watch together and feel the glow.
I scored “Cheaper By the Dozen 2” a bargain 6 out of 10.
