Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)

Regisseur:

Shawn Levy

Drehbuchautoren (WGA):

Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. (novel) and
Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (novel) ...

Premierendatum:

25. Dezember 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Komödie | Familienfilm

Werbezeile:

This Christmas The More... The Scarier!

Plot:

With his wife doing a book tour, a father of twelve must handle a new job and his unstable brood.

Plot Keywords:

Father Son Relationship | Big Family | Doorknob | Mud Mask | College Football

Filmpreise:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

Only something like the original

Besetzung

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

Alternativ:

Im Dutzend billiger (Deutschland) (Switzerland: German title) [de]

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some thematic elements.

Länge:

98 Min | Germany:94 Min (DVD version)

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Altersfreigabe:

Finland:K-3 | Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre | Malaysia:U | USA:PG (certificate #40326) | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/6 | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:5 | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Drehorte:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Firma:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Dies und das:

When Hank (Ashton Kutcher) gestures to his face ("This is the moneymaker!"), the motion he makes is the American Sign Language sign for "beautiful".

Pannen:

Abfolgefehler: When Kate drives away in the cab, you can see the Baker's purple turtle-top van parked a few houses down from their own.

Dialogzitate:

Jake: Yeah, without you, we wouldn't be the twelve Bakers anymore. We'd be,
[looks real serious]
Jake: eleven.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweist auf/spielt an auf/erwähnt "The Munsters" (1964)

Soundtrack:

Back Again

Only something like the original

There is some resemblance to the original movie in this film (as well as some elements borrowed from the sequel "Belles on their Toes"). The writers did include various ideas such as the move for the father's job, the family council, the father being offered the opportunity of his dreams, the father being a somewhat eccentric and unusual character, the mother being the calm one, etc. It also borrows just as much from sixties family comedies such as "Yours, Mine, and Ours" (i.e. the son that feels left out in the family group, the older brother who give "cool" advice to the younger ones, the kids trying to "sabotage" various events, etc.).

This version lacks something that the original one had. The original moved along with the pace of the changes in the family's life as normal life does. It also seemed to capture better the idea of trying to raise such a large group of children and the sacrifices and choices one has to make. There is also some semblance of what it is like to be a child in this family by keeping that focus on only one of the children, while still giving us glimpses of what the other ones are like.

The film, however, seemed to be more of a showcase for the comedic talents of Steven Martin than anything else. It also didn't move along in the same way that the original making the story somewhat unsatisfying.

Frank Gilbreth never lost the idea that his family was the most important thing where as Steve Martin's character has to be brought back into the fold. It is understandable that he would want something for himself, but to get him to the point where he sees his children as a burden and a liability is a problem. Thankfully in the end he comes back to being a part of his family, but the fact that he had to be causes the story to loose some of its charm.

The thing that made Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth want to write about their family was the joy that they knew in living in it despite the trials and tribulations. In this version of their story the joy seems to be lost and has to be recaptured. The director and writer are lucky enough that at least a little bit does.