Official Synopsis:
Steve Martin is funnier than ever in this hilarious sequel! Tom Baker (Martin) and wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt) bring their clan together for a memorable summer getaway. But their dream vacation turns into an outrageous competition with the overachieving, overzealous family of Tom's long-time rival, Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy). Featuring the original Baker kids, including Hilary Duff, Tom Welling and Piper Perabo, this supersized comedy is fun for the whole family!
Our Take:
They’re back, all twelve Baker kids, in Cheaper By The Dozen 2. So are Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt, and joining the cast this time around is Eugene Levy as Jimmy Murtaugh, Tom Baker’s boyhood rival who’s now grown up and become successful. He’s the ultimate “one-up” guy, the kind of guy you’ve got to hate (but also secretly be jealous of). On the outside, he’s got the perfect life: he’s rich, has a gorgeous trophy wife, and has eight good looking, well-behaved kids who look like they stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. However, we soon learn this is all a facade, and everyone has a lesson to learn. Of course.
Sometimes, first impressions can be wrong. Admittedly, I wasn’t really looking forward to sitting down and watching this film, because I figured it was going to be all about this big summer camp competition between Steve Martin and Eugene Levy’s characters. However, despite what the film’s trailer would have you believe, while this does occur in the film, it only makes up a small portion of it. Basically, if you take the first film and add The Great Outdoors with a pinch of Wet Hot American Summer, you’ve got Cheaper By The Dozen 2. The film manages to come off as sweet and innocent, yet still retain a slightly twisted side to it. But it remains clean, and doesn’t rely on potty humor for cheap laughs. It balances things out so there’s something here for everyone.
Here are the extra features on the disc:
* Camp Chaos (10 minutes) - A look behind the scenes featuring interviews with director Adam Shankman, and cast members Steve Martin, Eugene Levy, Bonnie Hunt, Carmen Electra, and Hillary Duff, as well as the remaining dozen. It’s your typical behind-the-scenes feature, showing everyone laughing and talking about how they had such a great time making the film. It’s a fun little puff piece that’s worth a look after watching the film.
* Director’s Commentary – Sit down and listen to a chat with director Adam Shankman. As far as commentaries go, it’s pretty good; full of little anecdotes and stories from the making of the film. However unless you’re a big fan of the film or are a huge Shankman fan, it’s not a must-listen.
* Comedic Trio (5 minutes) - Features interviews from cast members as they mostly kiss the rear ends of Steve Martin, Eugene Levy and Bonnie Hunt, as well as them kissing each other’s.
Cheaper By The Dozen 2 manages to do its job as a safe family comedy, with a few good laughs and lots of physical humor. It might not be Steve Martin’s greatest work, but he works well with Eugene Levy, and the other characters all help add a certain charm to the film. It’s definitely a good popcorn flick to watch with the family for some clean humor.
Overall Picture:
Movie: C+
DVD: B-
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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