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Back Shelf Beauties
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Cheaper By The Dozen There aren't a lot of new family films that come out during the month of December anymore. Anything targeted to kids comes out over the summer or in November because family films now serve as marketing launch pads for toys, DVDs and other stuff (God forbid they simply serve to entertain us when we need it and at appropriate times of the year). Sadly, this results in plenty of families looking around on Christmas week for something they can watch together. This year, they get a good choice with Cheaper By The Dozen. Steve Martin stars as Tom Baker - the head coach of a Division III college football team married to his long time sweetheart, Kate (Bonnie Hunt). They both passed on big time, glamorous careers to raise a large family, and were surprised that it led to 12 kids and happiness in small town America. However, each one still has a little restlessness in their souls. Out of blue, Tom gets a chance at his dream coaching job for a high profile major college and Kate is about to have her book published. Will the family be able to handle the move to Chicago and less time with their parents? Cheaper By The Dozen is a fun film for everyone in the family. Steve Martin is the anchor of the picture as he revisits his Parenthood days to play the loving Dad, and gets a chance to show his knack for physical comedy as well as being the funny, flustered guy. Of course, he's wonderful because he's one of the great actors and comedians of our time (a renaissance man in every sense of the word). With most of the story and several sub-plots revolving around his character, Martin gets put through the paces and appears in almost every scene, which leads me to my disappointment about the film. With Bonnie Hunt, Tom Welling, Ashton Kutcher, Hilary Duff and Piper Perabo, why does Martin have to be in almost every scene? I realize he's a huge star, but this supporting cast of legitimate movie and TV stars could have been used better by writer Craig Titley (leading a crew of several) and director Shawn Levy. Each gets a scene to show their stuff, but there is more potential in their stories than is realized on the screen. Instead, the supporting work is mainly thrown on the little kids in the film, which seems to be a cheap way to earn some love from the audience without having to work too hard. We'll gobble it all up, but I would have used the other adults more. Cheaper By The Dozen will give you more than a few laughs and make you feel pretty good as you leave the theater, so it accomplishes its goals. Martin shows why he is a comic legend, and most people will like the kids. If you want a feel good film for Christmas, this is it. 3 Waffles (out of 4) Copyright 2003 - WaffleMovies.com
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