Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageCheaper by the Dozen (2003)
Director: Shawn Levy
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Steve Martin stays in cruise gear as the forgiving, mildly eccentric father of 12 in this lame, ahistoric remake of the 1950 Clifton Webb comedy. Levy directs what amounts to an almost plotless - and entirely pointless - slice of controlled chaos as if it were an expensive pilot for a TV sitcom. In the Baker household, everybody has egg on face; frogs fall into giant breakfast bowls; the hall's a rollerskating rink and talk's a competitive volume sport. Where there's noise, there's life - until, that is, a deafening silence greets Dad's announcement that the brood are to uproot to Chicago for him to take up a new, top-college coaching job. They moan, they move, they rediscover their roller skates. But then Mum (an 'acceptably' sexualised Hunt) goes absent on a promotional book tour. What's this WASP, reactionary, romanticised, reassuringly isolationist pap doing, playing about with pinko feminist nonsense? It's only kidding. What's most offensive about this lazily written and directed advertisement for the sanctity of hearth and home is the absence of any proper passion, characterisation or observation from which to springboard the laughs. Only new dude Kutcher offers any relief from the endless chandelier crashes with his convincing turn as the vain and dumb actor boyfriend of the Bakers' eldest daughter (Perabo).Author: WH
Cast & crew
Director: Shawn Levy
Producer: Robert Simonds, Michael Barnathan, Ben Myron
Cast: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Tom Welling, Hilary Duff, Kevin G Schmidt, Alyson Stoner, Jacob Smith, Liliana Mumy, Morgan York, Forrest Landis, Blake Woodruff, Brent Kinsman, Paula Marshall, Steven Anthony Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 98 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now