Cheaper by the Dozen 2

Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Adam Shankman
Written by	Sam Harper
Based on	Characters by Craig Titley Cheaper by the Dozen Belles on Their Toes by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr.
Produced by	Shawn Levy Ben Myron
Starring	Steve Martin Eugene Levy Bonnie Hunt Tom Welling Piper Perabo Hilary Duff
Cinematography	Peter James
Edited by	Matthew Cassel Christopher Greenbury
Music by	John Debney
Production companies	20th Century Fox[1] 21 Laps Entertainment[2]
Distributed by	20th Century Fox[1]
Release date	December 21, 2005 (2005-12-21)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States[1]
Language	English
Budget	$60 million[3]
Box office	$135 million[3]

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a 2005 American family comedy film directed by Adam Shankman. It is a sequel to the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen and features Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, Alyson Stoner, and Tom Welling among others reprising their roles as members of the 12-child Baker family. Eugene Levy co-stars as the patriarch of a rival family of eight children. Carmen Electra portrays his wife.

Plot[]

Two years after Tom Baker resigned from his head coaching position, his family begins to undergo many changes, beginning with Lorraine's high school graduation and internship with Allure Magazine in New York City. Nora is now married to Bud McNulty and pregnant with their first child; Bud and Nora intend to move to Houston, Texas because of Bud's new job.

Feeling the family is breaking apart as the children grow up and move away, Tom persuades them to take one last family vacation all together at Lake Winnetka, a fictional lake in Wisconsin. The family finds that their old cabin is currently owned by a man named Mike Romanow. Tom's old rival, Jimmy Murtaugh, his new wife Sarina, and their eight kids Calvin, Anne, Daniel, Becky, Elliot, Lisa, Robin and Kenny are also staying at the lake for the summer; Jimmy is also friends and neighbors with Mike Romanow. Jimmy constantly flaunts his wealth and success to Tom, as well as the accomplishments of his children, often suggesting to Tom that his are less successful because of his parenting style. They get into many incidents, several of which are accidental: Mark and Kenny crash into a tennis court with a golf cart, Sarah is caught shoplifting from a gift shop, and Mark accidentally sets off a backpack of fireworks, causing widespread panic, especially when it is thrown into a boat, igniting its engine and causing it to explode.

Jimmy again brings up the topic that Tom needs to be more strict with his kids. Tom is angered by this, and he and Jimmy decide to settle the matter at the Annual Labor Day Family Cup. Tom trains the kids for days, not realizing they are miserable. Sarah and Elliot go to the movies to see Ice Age together, but are spied on by their fathers, which ultimately results in them getting into an argument and humiliating their children. Upon returning to the Bakers’ cabin, Sarah is furious and refuses to compete for Tom in the Cup. The other children are also angry with him, not only for spying on Sarah, but also for ruining the entire trip because of his competitiveness with the Murtaughs, and Kate laments that his and Jimmy’s conflicting parenting styles have torn the two families even further apart.

The next morning, Tom goes to the Cup to compete with Kyle and Nigel, the only two still willing to go. However, after discovering an old "Team Baker" flag, Kate and the rest of the kids show up, forgiving Tom and willing to compete again. After the events, however, the Bakers and the Murtaughs are tied for first; a tiebreaking canoe race is announced, in which every family member must compete. During the canoe race, Nora goes into labor; the Murtaughs want to help, but Jimmy, sensing the opportunity to defeat Tom once and for all, refuses to do so. The Murtaugh children jump out of the canoe to help the Bakers. While arguing with Sarina, Jimmy reveals that he was jealous of Tom being the popular one when they were younger. Eventually, Sarina convinces him to help and the two families work together to get Nora to the hospital. Bud, Lorraine, and Kate go with Nora in the delivery room, while Tom, Jimmy, Sarina, and the rest of the kids stay in the waiting room. While talking with Jimmy, Tom realizes that he has to let his kids grow, but wherever they go, they will always be with him, and he will always be with them. Nora then gives birth to a baby boy whom she and Bud name after his grandfather, who has shown them that "there is no way to be a perfect parent, but a million ways to be a really good one." Bud announces that he and Nora have bought the cabin that the Bakers had been renting. Nora, Bud, and baby Tom leave for Houston a few days later.

Cast[]

Bakers[]

• Steve Martin as Tom Baker
• Bonnie Hunt as Kate Baker
• Piper Perabo as Nora Baker-McNulty
• Tom Welling as Charlie Baker
• Hilary Duff as Lorraine Baker
• Kevin G. Schmidt as Henry Baker
• Alyson Stoner as Sarah Baker
• Jacob Smith as Jake Baker
• Forrest Landis as Mark Baker
• Liliana Mumy as Jessica Baker
• Morgan York as Kim Baker
• Blake Woodruff as Mike Baker
• Brent Kinsman as Kyle Baker
• Shane Kinsman as Nigel Baker

Murtaughs[]

• Eugene Levy as Jimmy Murtaugh
• Carmen Electra as Sarina Murtaugh
• Shawn Roberts as Calvin Murtaugh
• Jaime King as Anne Murtaugh
• Robbie Amell as Daniel Murtaugh
• Melanie Tonello as Becky Murtaugh
• Taylor Lautner as Elliot Murtaugh
• Courtney Fitzpatrick as Lisa Murtaugh
• Madison Fitzpatrick as Robin Murtaugh
• Alexander Conti as Kenneth “Kenny” Murtaugh

Others[]

• Jonathan Bennett as Bud McNulty, Nora’s husband and Tom and Kate’s son-in-law.
• Peter Keleghan as Mike Romanow, Jimmy’s neighbor and friend who is the owner of the old cabin at Lake Winnetka that the Baker family rents.

Soundtrack[]

1. "I Wish" – Stevie Wonder
2. "Graduation Day Song" – Joseph L. Altruda
3. "Mexicali Mondays" – Christopher Lightbody and Robert Steinmiller
4. "What If" – Gina Rene
5. "Martini Lounge" – David Sparkman
6. "Drinks on the House" – Daniel May
7. "Big Sky Lullaby" – Daniel May
8. "Someday" – Sugar Ray
9. "Express Yourself" – Jason Mraz
10. "Michael Finnegan" – Traditional
11. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" – Traditional
12. "Why Can't We Be Friends" – War
13. "Die Walküre" – Richard Wagner
14. "Theme from Jaws" – John Williams
15. "Mallin" – Tree Adams
16. "Under Pressure" – Queen and David Bowie
17. "Music from Ice Age" – David Newman
18. "Holiday" – Madonna
19. "Sunday Morning" (acoustic version) – Maroon 5
20. "Bridal Chorus" – Richard Wagner

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes ranked Cheaper by the Dozen 2 98th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s. It has a rating of 6% based on 93 reviews of the film.^[4] The site's consensus reads: "A sequel to a remake, Cheaper 2 wastes its solid cast in scenes of over-the-top, predictable humor".^[5] On Metacritic, it has a score of 34 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[6]

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert, gave the film one of its rare positive reviews, awarding it 3/4 stars and stating "As I watched this sequel, a certain good feeling began to make itself known. Yes, the movie is unnecessary. However, it is unnecessary at a higher level of warmth and humor than the recent remake Yours, Mine, and Ours." Ebert also highly praised Alyson Stoner's performance, favorably comparing the then-twelve year old actress to Reese Witherspoon.^[7]

Calling the overall film "bland", Variety's Justin Chang agreed with Ebert on Stoner, calling her "an endearingly vulnerable standout" and deeming her subplot to be "the most engaging" in it. Chang was also kind to Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt and Eugene Levy, deeming the veteran actors did the best with what was given to them.^[8] Marrit Ingman of the Austin Chronicle conceded that it had a good message, and agreed that Hunt was "marvelous and down-to-earth" but ultimately felt that "the rest of the movie is as funny as mildew", found that "the product placement is particularly egregious" and thought that Hilary Duff looked "as tanned and raw as buffalo jerky".^[9] Andrea Gronvall was also horrified by Duff's appearance while writing for the Chicago Reader, calling her "haggard" and "flat-out scary", and overall felt that there was "a discernible lack of enthusiasm from almost everyone involved", however singling out Carmen Electra for being "the most winning performer of the bunch".^[10]

The film received two Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actress (Hilary Duff) and Worst Supporting Actor (Eugene Levy).^{[citation needed]}

Box office[]

The film grossed $9,309,387 on its opening weekend, finishing in 4th place at the box office behind King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Fun with Dick and Jane. By the end of its run, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 grossed $82,571,173 domestically and $46,610,657 internationally, totaling $129,181,830 worldwide. It is one of only twelve feature films to be released in over 3,000 theaters and still improve on its box office performance in its second weekend, increasing 55.6% from $9,309,387 to $14,486,519.^[11]

Home video[]

The DVD was released on May 23, 2006.^[3] The Blu-ray was released on January 5, 2010. The DVD is two-sided and side B features previews of Flicka and Aquamarine.^{[citation needed]} Other DVD extras include an audio commentary with director Adam Shankman, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and theatrical trailers.

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Cheaper by the Dozen 2

• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at IMDb
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at AllMovie
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 at Box Office Mojo